


Modern American Romance

by moricat



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Feelings Realization, Friends to Lovers, High School Student Armin Arlert, High School Student Eren Yeager, M/M, Romantic Gestures, Teen Romance, modern American high school AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-12
Updated: 2017-02-23
Packaged: 2018-09-17 00:12:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 33,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9295772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moricat/pseuds/moricat
Summary: In which Eren realizes his feelings for Armin and struggles to express them in a series of failed romantic gestures.Modern American High School!AU fic. I LOVE this AU! I loved writing this story!Gift fic for my friend Peachy on tumblr~ Hope you like it!!!





	1. Best Bros

**Author's Note:**

> My previous story ["Modern American Bromance"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8797711) is actually the short prequel to this so I would suggest reading it first if you have the time~
> 
> Once this story ends, there will be a sequel as well ;3 In fact I wrote ["Modern Lovers' Garden" ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8914135)as a short sequel to it!~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armin is heartbroken for the last time and decides he needs some space from Eren.

The Wall High cafeteria was buzzing with the sophomores' chatter about their plans for the 3 day weekend starting tomorrow. The smell of freshly Windexed tables and sweat filled the air but went unnoticed at this point to anyone who'd been attending long enough. The famous dynamic duo, Yeager & Arlert, exchanged laughs and enjoyed their usual chipper morning chats before settling themselves alone at the table in the front of the room, planning to discuss tomorrow's 'guys' night' and what they were going to do with themselves.

"You can wait here, I'll be right back with our food." Eren suggested as he got up to fetch their lunch trays, receiving an unnoticed grin from Armin as he sat behind, waiting.

"Thank you, Eren!" Armin beamed. His big doe eyes sparkled their brightest, on full display since he'd finally stopped wearing his "placebo specs" per Eren's constant insistence.

"What are best bros for?" Eren shrugged with an indifferent smile and with that, walked off to fetch their lunches...

Suddenly, Armin's grin faded as his heart dropped... _'Best bros'_ , he repeated in his head. The term echoed again and again; _'best bros, best bros, **best bros** '..._ His eyes grew dim as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the the table and his hands over them for security, wondering why on earth that response bothered him so much... It's something Eren said all the time, so it's not like Armin wasn't used to it. And they really are the very best of friends, so it's not something that should hurt to hear... And yet his heart ached for it today, in a way that it hadn't before... Why? He frowned quietly to himself at the table, lost for the busy noise of the cafeteria, wondering what to make of this... Maybe- it was because this ache had been in his heart for _6 years_ now... 6 years of waiting and longing for Eren to give him some kind of sign that he might be interested in him romantically... 6 years of wishing Eren would look at him and whisper _'you're the one'_ only to be referred to as _'best bro'_ over and over and **over** again... It was currently beginning to feel like a complete and utter disappointment to hear that term. _'I love you, man!', 'Armin, you're the best!', 'We're the ultimate bromance, dude!'_

Armin sank into his seat... That's all he was ever going to be, wasn't it? Just Eren's best buddy... Just his closest pal... Just his best friend... An honor he cherished with all his heart, certainly, but would he really have to endure that awful _ache_  for the rest of his life?... It seemed he would if he kept this up... and that realization suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks...

Armin loved Eren _deeply_. Eren always made his heart feel like it was going to beat right out of his chest, when he didn't make it skip about 20 beats otherwise. Eren would put the most classic feeling of longing butterflies in his stomach whenever he was near, ever since they were kids... Eren filled him with strength, and confidence, and the courage to keep surviving in this cruel world of bullies and wannabes, until Armin could whisk him around the greater world like they always dreamed, to see the _real_  beauty in it... But Eren only saw a good friend. No matter how hopeful Armin was that Eren might come around to seeing him the same way, he would be disappointed every single time. And today it finally broke his heart...

Eren happily came back with Armin's lunch tray, filled with everything Armin liked, (or tolerated on the school's lunch menu), and slid it over to him with a smile. "One french bread club sandwich, extra mayo, a side of ruffle chips, a cup of mixed fruit, and a brownie square, with apple juice from the bottom of the ice crate, so it's the coldest." He winked. _"Bone-up-a-teet!"_

Armin quietly frowned at the lunch tray... Normally he would hit Eren with a grand grin and sparkling eyes when he brought him his meals, because Eren could always bring him exactly what he wanted every single time. But today, it just felt like a hollow gesture, mocking him in his pain.

Eren raised an eyebrow. Armin didn't react the way he usually did, but he couldn't make sense of it... Not even the shy little smile he usually cracks for his dirty jokes was there.

Armin silently reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet to pay Eren back for the tray of food, preparing sadly to leave him. "I'm sorry, I-- I have to go..."

Eren reached out and placed a worried hand on Armin's arm. "Are you okay? Where're you going?"

"Sorry, I just... lost my appetite... I need to go."

"Well, let me come with you, then," he offered, preparing to pick up his tray and follow, "'make sure you're alright."

"No." Armin rejected firmly, raising a hand to halt his confused grey-eyed friend. "...Please, I just-- need to be alone right now..."

Eren's lips parted as he stared for a moment... "Oh... Okay, then... I'll-- see you later."

Armin gave Eren a sad wave good bye and walked off to go think outside by himself until the lunch period was over, leaving Eren alone with 2 full trays of food and an empty seat across from him...

 _''I need to be alone right now'?... He's never told me that before...'_ He thought to himself, staring down at his own lunch tray. _'I wonder what's wrong...'_

* * *

4th period ended and Eren quickly maneuvered his way down the busy hallway through the crowd to get to Armin, whom he spotted exchanging his books in his locker.

Armin slowly moved his heavy history book into it's place on the cold metal shelf, tuning out the world around him and turning off all of his thoughts to avoid crying anymore... He wiped his sleeve over the corner of his left eye, still red from his sobbing earlier and from fighting the urge to cry again during class. He brought a hand to the chilly metal frame to help hold himself up as he turned his gaze to the floor and took a deep breath.

 ** _"Armin!"_ ** Of course, Eren arrived within a moment, bringing a hopeful smile with him. "Hey!"

Armin shut his eyes to prepare himself before opening them again to look up and through Eren. He nodded in greeting, trying to approach the situation with as much tact as he possibly could in this state. "Mm..."

"Uhm-- Wanna try this new gum I bought yesterday?" Eren asked, pulling the not-so-new flavor of gum from his pocket, as a cheap excuse to break the ice with his friend again.

"No, thank you." Armin sighed, turning his gaze back into his locker to find his chemistry book.

"...Are you feeling any be--"

"I really don't wanna talk right now, Eren..." Armin interrupted, taking his chemistry book out and closing the door.

"Oh, okay, umm... Guess I'll see you later then..."

"I--... don't really wanna talk later, either..." Armin lamented, beginning to walk away. "Bye..."

"Oh..." Eren croaked, trying not to seem bothered. He quickly followed his companion to re-confirm guys' night before letting him walk away. "I'll talk to you on Friday then?"

Armin swallowed hard and tried not to look Eren in the eye. "N-no, I really can't hang out with you on Friday after all..."

"Oh. O-okay... Sunday then." Eren suggested, still forcing a hopeful smile, and resting his hand on Armin's wrist.

Armin shook his head no.

"...W-well I- kind of had this thing on Saturday, but I can move it if you--"

 _"No, Eren."_ Armin asserted, stopping to look Eren in the eye to affirm that he meant it. "I'm sorry..."

Eren gazed back into that unusual cold stare shooting through his heart, leaving him simply at a loss for thoughts. "...Did I do something wrong?"

"No... I'm sorry. It's not you. I just need some space right now... Good bye, Eren." Armin concluded, and quickly turned away again to resume his walk to class. He could no longer force back the tears.

"..." Eren was speechless. He stood frozen as his dearest companion walked away from him, with his hand trailing over Armin's wrist and hand until he was gone, leaving him behind with a strange and horrible ache in his chest in the middle of a crowded hallway. He didn't know what to think... not in the slightest...


	2. Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren deals with the anxiety of possibly losing his best friend and makes a brave discovery...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More angst, longer chapter, BUT, there is hope... 
> 
> Also there is Zeke Yeager who was WAYYYY too fun to write in Modern American!AU lmao!

Eren walked home alone, deep in thought about today... Armin had never behaved so coldly towards him before. It hurt... He kept comparing it to that scene in _Frozen_ , the movie they'd planned to watch together tomorrow night before Armin canceled, wherein when Elsa shot Anna through the heart with an ice blast... Why? Why would Armin do that to him? To _him_? And it hurt so _badly_... Armin was his very best friend in the world. Armin was like his other half. Armin held his dreams and his future... But for the first time since he'd met Armin, all of a sudden the fear of _losing_  him entered his mind... and it was putting his stomach in knots...

Then Eren stopped himself and had a thought... "I'm overreacting... That's all this is. Armin probably just had a stomach ache or something and he didn't want me to know he had to take a shit. Haha, he's so classy..." he smiled. "Yeah... Yeah! Yeah, I'm just crazy, reading way too much into it. He's probably sick of _Frozen_  too since I made him watch it with me so many times already. I'll see if he'd prefer to watch one of _his_  favorites instead! I can tolerate _Spirited Away_  again! Yeah! I'll give him a little more alone time, then I'll text him when I get home!..." Eren grinned again and unconsciously started to pick up his pace. The sooner he got home, the sooner he could let himself text Armin the new plan.

Guys' night was a mundane thing he and Armin always did on Fridays. Often, it was essentially a movie night, which they might spend watching something new, something nostalgic from their childhood, something cool, something funny, something to appreciate, or even just something bad to laugh at ironically together. If it wasn't the occasional movie in theaters once a month or so, they'd watch it in Eren's living room, cuddled up on the couch, sharing a blanket, eating popcorn and snacks, (often times an interesting new candy Armin ordered online from overseas), and drinking soda. If it were a movie in theaters, it was often either followed or preceded by a dinner of some kind together, and a trip to the ice cream bar, (before they were banned from it), or some other place for a fun treat. It was filled with endless fun, laughter, deep conversation, or otherwise just comfortable silence with Eren's arm around Armin. Sometimes Mikasa would join in, much to Eren's annoyance, but when she didn't, one of them would usually end up at the other's house to hang out or even spend the night. Eren looked forward to it every single week, as his breakout from the social pressure of being a modern American teenager. Armin truly knew him on a deep level, better than anyone else did, and in a way that _only_  he did. Only Armin knew of Eren's affinity for Disney movies, only Armin could enthrall him with rich conversation and intrigue about whatever the film was, or anything else, and only Armin could make him that happy again every single week. It meant a lot to Eren to be able to celebrate that... maybe a lot more than he even realized...

Eren was now sprinting home, running faster and faster the closer he got to his house, and rushed into the doorway.

His busy mother vacuumed the floors and paused to greet her speeding son. "Hi, sweetie! You're home a little early, what's--"

"Can't talk mom, gotta text Armin, chicken strips for dinner, bye!" Eren rambled as he ran up the stairs without pause.

At the sound of Eren's door slamming, Carla simply resumed her vacuuming. "Teenagers..."

\--

Eren tossed his backpack somewhere on the floor, and yanked out his phone from his pocket. He plopped down onto his mattress and violently unlocked his screen to open his conversation with Armin, (the dumb joke he sent him earlier that morning still visible, followed by Armin's happy _"LOL"_ underneath). Thumbs practically shaking, he began typing...

_'Hey if ur just sick of frozen we can watch one of ur faves instead! Just lemme kno!'_

He took a deep breath and tapped _send_ , accompanied by the fast "whoosh" sound of a sent message. And now, he just waited for a response... His foot tapped nervously on the hardwood floor as the seconds ticked on and on... The panic was quickly starting to return.

_'Are u still not feeling well? If ur that suck maybe u should let my dad have a look.'_

He quickly tapped _send_ again only to find that he sent a stupid typo and tapped the screen at double time to correct himself.

_'Sick*'_

With another fast "whoosh" sound, he hit _send_ again, wondering why the hell he was so anxious about this...

Movie night had been cancelled before, or just moved around, but Armin had never cryptically pushed him away like this... Other people, sure, but never _Eren_... Thus this movie night became twice as important to him, as it might remedy whatever was ailing their friendship, and, oppositely, seeing it fall through might signal a turn for the worse...

10 minutes passed and there was still no reply. Eren panicked further, with sweat breaking out on his forehead. Armin almost ALWAYS responded to him right away... If he didn't, it was because he was either asleep or in the middle of something, and since Eren knew that neither were true in this case, he began typing away again. He sent more and more messages hoping one of them might finally be met with a response...

_'But if this weekends just not good for u that's cool too!'_

_'Maybe we can do a double feature next week!~'_

_'If ur feeling up to it by then'_

_'It's still cool if ur not.'_

20 more minutes passed, and still no response...

" _Fuck_..." Eren took another deep breath trying to sooth himself. This was driving him mad, like a bug bite he couldn't leave alone. Deciding he needed to stop himself before he blew up Armin's phone with anymore ignored messages, he finally got up from the bed, shoved his phone back into his pocket, and wandered out to do some chores until Armin might text him back. He took out the trash, rinsed the dishes, loaded the dishwasher, and set the table early. Still anxious, and still no response from Armin, he pulled out his pack of gum and tossed a piece into his mouth to calm his nerves.

 _"Ah, ah, ah!"_ His mother called as she strolled into the room and pulled the gum out from his mouth.

"Mom!"

"No gum or sweets before dinner or you'll ruin your appetite."

"It's already ruined..."

"What, what are you talking about?"

"Armin won't talk to me, and I don't know why... I think he's mad at me, but how can I fix it if he won't talk to me?"

"Oh, sweetie, don't worry about that, I'm sure he'll come around!" She smiled to herself, knowing full well how loved Eren was by that sweet little blond boy.

"How do you know?" Eren asked with worry.

"...Because you're sho shweet!" She cooed, pinching his cheeks. "And besides, your friendship is bigger than any simple mistake, right? Just give him some time, I'm sure it'll all be back to normal soon." She pat his shoulder and turned away to tend to cooking dinner.

Not fully trusting her, Eren took a sad seat at the table, resting his now-sore cheek in his hand, praying that any second now his phone would buzz with Armin's response...

An hour and 45 minutes passed, and Eren sat on his bed again, still waiting for a reply... He inhaled, took his phone back into his palms, and quickly unlocked it to begin typing yet again...

_'Yanno earlier today Ymir read from Reiner's diary in front of the class to teach him a lesson in hitting on Christa. It was fuckin hilarious it had a chart in it to measure how big his biceps n calves were getting (and his "little titan" if you catch my drift ;D)'_

Still no response...

Eren desperately sought out another idea worth texting...

_'Oh btw I have a big test next Friday could u help me study? That'd be rly helpful!'_

Nothing... not even a _Read_  flag under the blue iMessage bubble...

"..."

_'I was thinking about our future trip also!!! Maybe we could start with japan like you want but then when we get to europe we can just stay there for like a year and hop from country to country. It'll be like that grand tour thing u told me about.'_

_'Wouldn't that be awesome Aru?~'_

No response...

Eren's eyes were beginning to well up with tears, when finally, like some heaven sent miracle, the grey bubble came up, blinking 3 dots as Armin was typing... Eren gasped and held his phone as steadily as he could with his shaky hands, anxiously awaiting the reply...

After about a minute or so, the inverted "whoosh" sounded and the grey message bubble appeared:

_'Eren I'm trying to do my homework. Please stop texting me. Good bye.'_

The tears fell. Eren felt like his heart had shattered... Armin didn't even respond to his question about their _dream_... He stared blankly at the message, trying to decide if he should respond to it with an apology or not, when Armin definitely sounded like he didn't want any more disturbances. But Eren couldn't leave it alone and concluded the conversation...

_'Ok. Sorry...'_

He tossed the phone away to keep himself from the temptation to text him again, and fell back onto the bed, laying the back of his arm over his mouth...

\--

After a few minutes of crying to himself, Eren finally got up to retrieve his phone to call Mikasa...

Mikasa sat on her bed, writing romantic poetry in her little black notebook with her skull pen, when her phone suddenly rang. Recognizing the rarely sounded ring tone as Eren's, she blushed with a deep gasp and quickly tried to collect herself before answering the magical call that might fantastically bring her a date for tonight if she ever had a dream come true. "Hello?"

Eren's frantic emotions were easily heard from the other side. He was obviously still crying, or at least trying to force himself not to. "Mikasa, is Armin mad at me?!"

Mikasa huffed a deflated sigh. Of course Eren would call her just to talk about Armin... "Not that I know of. Why?" She replied calmly and sweetly.

Heavy tears poured from Eren's eyes. He was happy that Mikasa couldn't see them but devastated he still had no answer. "He won't talk to me but I don't know what I did! Has he at least talked to you?"

"No, not since this morning. Are you sure he's even mad at you? He could just be grumpy in general, you know..."

"No, he's definitely mad at _me!_ He normally _comes_ to me when he's upset!" Eren argued in a wail.

"Well, he'd never be mad at you for long. Don't worry."

**"You people keep saying not to worry but I know when something is wrong with us, alright?!!"**

"Eren don't shout." She ordered firmly.

"..." Eren's sobs were quite audible, unhidden and raw. "...Sorry. I just wanna fix it..."

Mikasa sighed again, feeling awkward that she was in the middle of this, but as a best friend, did her best to advise him. "Look, tell me what happened today. Let's backtrack and see if we can't find where it went wrong."

"...Well, _nothing_ happened... He was in a good mood this morning until I brought him his lunch.”

“Did you bring him the wrong lunch?”

“No, I brought it to him just the way he likes it! Club sandwich, extra mayo, a side of–”

“I don’t need details. Then what happened?”

“I slid the tray to him, said _'bone-up-a-teet'_ , and sat down with him. But he didn’t–…” Eren swallowed as the weight of the realization that Armin didn't smile for him like he usually did hit him all at once. Within the 3 minutes he was gone, all of a sudden Armin was ready to push him aside, just like that, and then he didn't smile at him, nor did his lovely big eyes sparkle for him… Eren always appreciated those eyes. He _loved_ seeing Armin happy, _loved_ being the one to make him so happy, loved that he stopped wearing those stupid glasses so Eren could see those eyes in plain sight over a big happy smile that could light up the night sky... But now, there was suddenly a possibility he may never see him like that again... The one thing he always believed in and counted on being in his life forever, could be gone the minute he turned his head. This new fear pressed painfully against his heart...

"Eren?"

Realizing he'd trailed off and zoned out, Eren shook himself back to the conversation and continued. “…H-he paid me for the lunch and ditched me there cuz he wanted to be alone… He’s never ever said that to me before. He always retreats _TO_ me, not _FROM_ me… And then he canceled our movie date--”  

“Movie date?”  

“Ah- I mean… guys’ night.” Eren repaired.

“Uh huh…”  

“Then I met him in the hall and he was so cold, and pretty much told me to fuck off, and he wouldn’t text me back, not even to talk about Europe and Japan, Mikasa!” He cried.

Mikasa rolled her eyes, so irritated to be in the middle of a lovers' spat, talking to a party so empty headed he didn't even recognize what was so _obvious_. She sighed once more. "Look, everybody gets mad. It'll be okay. It's only been a few hours since school ended so don't panic over losing 6 years of friendship within one afternoon. I know for a fact that Armin cares about you very deeply, so just give him some space and he'll come back to you, I'm sure."

"Mikasa, I don't like that advice..."

"Well, I don't know what to tell you then. Talk to your brother, he's a worldly guy. Maybe he has better advice. I can't give you anymore than I've already said..." She admitted in defeat, knowing better than to involve herself in something that wasn't her place. "Just take my word for it. Everything's going to be fine."

Eren audibly wiped his sniffling nose. "Bye." and with that, ended the call, (never minding if Mikasa gave her goodbye), and double checked for any texts from Armin. Seeing as there were none, he shoved his phone into his pocket.

\--

Eren carried himself downstairs to Zeke's basement door, which stayed open to better keep its temperature regulated with the rest of the warm Yeager house. "Zeke? You busy? It's important."

Zeke held up a persnickety finger to silence his little brother from disrupting his meditation. He sat facing the wall in lotus position, shirtless, and mumbling his evening mantra on a yoga mat to the low exotic music playing from his surround sound speakers.

Eren annoyedly walked down the stairs, his body jittering in anxiousness over his Armin-situation and impatiently tapped his foot on the floor by Zeke's mat, wishing he'd quit playing around.

Seeing as Eren was apparently determined to bring him out of his zen state, Zeke finally grabbed the remote for his blue tooth speaker and stopped his playlist. "Okay." he huffed as he finally rose up, his needlessly ripped body on full display for no one but himself. "What's on your mind, Eren?"

"Armin's mad at me..." Eren informed him with crossed arms to hold himself steady from the jitters.

"And what business is this of mine?" He sang playfully, moving around the room and blowing out his incense meditation candles.

"Hey, you wanted to stay here with us as a family, this is what family does! I need advice on what to do..." Eren defended, waving a hand in front of his nose as the ugly smell of Zeke's gross candles tried to waft through it.

Zeke gave a friendly sigh. "I suppose. Alright, little brother." He announced, throwing his robe over his arms and turning the big screen tv back on as he landed on his big brown couch. "What's the deal? What's the _'haps'?"_

Eren took a seat across from him on the red bean bag chair and spilled his situation. "Armin's mad at me. But I don't know why, and he won't talk to me, so I don't know what to do..."

"Isn't guys' night tomorrow? Just talk to him then." The 28 year old blond casually suggested, hardly thinking of this as a real problem when teenagers are so overdramatic, (on top of Armin clearly being in love with Eren).

"He canceled guys' night!"

"Woah..." came his genuine response.

"Yeah... So now I really don't know what to do... What if he's like... REALLY mad at me... And this is the end of our friendship?..."

Zeke stroked his beard and searched his thoughts for what to suggest. He adjusted his glasses, going into his professor-mode, and finally decided on what to say. "Maybe..." he paused for effect, bringing Eren to the edge of his seat, (as much as one can be in a bean bag chair), before announcing his point with an enthusiastic smile, "it's _good_ that you stop being friends."

Eren all but screeched. **_"WHAT?!"_**

"Hear me out, would you? Sometimes good things have to fall apart to make way for new things! Better things! One comfortable thing may be holding you back from a world of happiness you've never even thought of!" He beamed, proud of his own wise thought.

Eren couldn't be more offended he'd even suggest such a thing. How could it possibly be a GOOD thing to lose Armin? "Ugh, I've had it, go back to your weird shit." He growled, dismissively throwing his hand through the air before getting up to stride to the staircase.

"It's called _meditating_ and it might be good for you, you know! Try taking yourself for a walk and clearing your head, it'll help the stress!" He called.

 _"Whatever!"_ Eren called back as he marched hastily back up the stairs. 

Zeke simply shrugged, put up his feet on the coffee table and switched the tv to a baseball game, already swearing at the players for a shoddy foul ball, audible even over the loud surround sound speakers.

\--

Eren staggered through the kitchen and wiped his wet eyes. Feeling empty, depressed, and anxious, he checked his phone again, still finding no text from Armin... He gave a sad sigh, replaced his phone in his pocket, slid open the backdoor, and stepped out into the backyard to think...

It was a rather large yard, as a great aging doctor's salary like Grisha Yeager's would easily afford, with a beautiful landscape for Carla. It featured a huge stone porch, with big stone steps, and a large stone jacuzzi they used in the summer. There were stone sidewalks swerving through the rich green grass, and a bunch of ever changing red and purple flower shrubs Eren couldn't pronounce, (nor cared to learn), along the path of them. There were blossoming trees, flowerbeds, shrubs, and bushes all around, a koi pond with a lovely fountain near the center, and a redwood bridge crossing over it. Towards the back was a blooming flower arch with soft white lights strung through it, and a big stone barbecue pit (featuring a brick oven)... All surrounded by a stone wall fencing in the area.

Eren sauntered down the cobblestone stairs and over the stone sidewalk, brushing his fingers mindlessly over the red flowers in the bushes that lined it, and looked up at the white tree blossoms overhead. As kids, Armin used to greatly admire them, and so Eren would always challenge himself to climb the tree and pick one for him. Eren never had the strength to get up there with his scrawny little arms, but Armin insisted that it was alright, as he didn't need really need one... Eren chuckled to himself because now he was tall enough to just reach up and grab one at any time if he wanted, as many as he liked... He found it strange, realizing that as soon as he could do so, he no longer considered pulling one down... but smiled knowing the possibility was there nonetheless. He continued his walk along the sidewalk, passing the the soft grass where he and Armin used to play as kids, sweet memories warming his heart and yet aching it at the same time... He picked up a rock from his mother's flowerbed, and followed along the koi pond with his eyes. He strolled over the arched redwood bridge, and took a seat at its peak, leaning against the guard post and looking down at the fish swimming around below... Armin used to love laying on the bridge with him, make-believing the pond was a magical sea, and that down below were dragon spirits disguised in the form of fish. It was probably an innocent idea he thought up after watching _Spirited Away_ as a little kid... and it charmed Eren just as much even now. And those bright, lively eyes of Armin's that sparkled whenever he was inspired like that, never changed. They deserved to see the world... Eren fell sad again and rested his head against the post with a silent thud. That _dream_ of theirs never ever changed, not since they agreed to it while stargazing in Armin's room that one fateful night 6 years ago... Even today, Armin's laptop was just as full of bookmarks about the wonders and beauty of the _"outside world"_ , (as they'd playfully dubbed it for likening their stupid school to a _"big cage"_ )... The thought that this life affirming dream might just disappear altogether over a little dispute he couldn't understand brought the trembling back into his hands.

"...Why is he mad at me?... What did I do wrong?... I _can't_ lose him... I can't..." Eren tossed the rock into the pond, right into the wavy reflection of the moon, and after watching the splash, turned his gaze up to the sky, wishing Armin were there beside him... It'd been a long time since they looked at the stars together in the moonlight. Maybe 3 years? Armin would tell him fun things about the constellations, and connect the stars into pictures in his mind... Armin explained that the moon was what made the ocean waves move and pull into the tide. He always had such a fascination with the ocean... _'It connects the world, it connects humanity, and it never rests. It lives forever...'_ That's what Armin always said.

"What would I do without that voice in my ear telling me all those wonderful things?..." Eren asked himself. He pulled his phone out to pointlessly check for a text from Armin again. Still nothing... He locked it, returned it to his pocket, and closed his eyes for a long moment...

A beautiful vivid memory of Armin came into his mind... Of Armin smiling at him and laughing... With those big, lively, _wonderful_ eyes shimmering for him... gazing at him... always gazing at him... like he was waiting for an answer... Always waiting... _Armin_... Wonderful, _wonderful_ _Armin..._

With a gasp, Eren's eyes shot back open and his left hand clutched at his chest, grasping the fabric of his shirt in his fingers... His heart had skipped a beat. His eyes widened as the memory replayed again and again and found that his heart had begun racing, and pounding as the roaring blood rushed through his body and into his cheeks like a hot wild fire. Eren froze, sweat breaking over his brow, and a heave in his breath. "I--... I'm _in love_ with him..."

\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look at that, progress! The next chapter will hopefully be cheerier~


	3. Pocky Bouquet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fully aware of his own feelings now, Eren ventures into the unknown in attempts to win Armin's heart...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is much shorter but hopefully cute~
> 
> And Eren is no creative; so just know that it is no exaggeration that he worked excruciatingly hard on this project.

The full weekend passed and Eren didn't hear from Armin even once, nor did Armin hear from Eren. It was strange for both parties, but completely necessary in each of their minds; For Eren, to fully come to terms with his feelings, and for Armin, to distance himself from the heartache. 

After his epiphany on Thursday night, Eren ran back into the house and screamed at his brother that he was _in love_ with Armin, completely forgetting in the heat of the moment that this also meant he was _gay_ , (which made Zeke laugh his ass off). Eren got very little sleep that night, mostly crying into his pillow over Armin, wishing he would talk to him... and daring to wish for his heart... He spent most of the day hours on Friday trying to process everything else while trying to think of what to do... It was a _stressful_ weekend for him, a crazy and scary one that left him dizzy and had his head spinning with a million thoughts at once... He missed Armin so _desperately_ and wanted to talk to him more than anything in the world that weekend... He'd never felt anything worse than having his best friend seemingly angry at him, and felt an awful knot in his stomach at the thought of his missing companion, all the while longing for his affections. But thinking about Armin also proved to be the bitter but effective medicine he needed at the time. Remembering how amazing Armin was, what a perfect kindred spirit he was, and what a perfect best friend he was... How loyal, and honest, and sincere he was... How strong he was and how brave he was... And how passionate and inspired he was by the beautiful things in this world that Eren felt so lucky just to be included in... Eren couldn't help but smile. He felt like laughing, crying, and throwing up, realizing all these powerful feelings at once. There was no question about it: _**Eren was in love with Armin Arlert.**_

After finally thinking up a plan to advance their relationship, Eren spent that guys' night watching lots of video tutorials for a big project and immediately called Connie to change their Saturday plans of going to the gym, begging him to go with him to the International Market instead to pick up the supplies. While shopping with him, Connie gladly helped Eren talk out his feelings as a good supportive friend, which definitely made Eren feel a little better and a little more optimistic about the whole situation...

* * *

Standing at his open locker on Monday morning, Eren's busy thumb swiped through the overstuffed photo libraries in his phone looking at all the pictures of Armin and himself he'd collected over the year... Armin was always so close to him, in every single one of those photos. Always cuddled in with him, or pressed up against him, or leaning on his shoulder... Eren sighed with a lovesick grin... What a gift, Armin was. A wonderful, wonderful gift... If he could somehow win Armin's heart, he'd officially be the luckiest guy in the world...

Eren looked up and stared into the mirror of his locker door, taking a deep breath as he tried to motivate himself, clutching a particular item carefully in his hands. "...Okay, Yeager, you can do this. Just breathe, keep it casual, keep it cool, don't come on too strong, just... try to make those eyes sparkle for you again. Yeah!" He tried to smile at himself for confidence but found it horrific looking and off putting from how nervous he was and how little sleep he'd gotten all weekend, far from the prince charming look he was hoping for. "Ugh..." he grimaced. "Well, maybe when I _see him_  I'll have a better smile..." Despite the pep talk, his confidence faded quickly, as did his optimism, sending the weight of his body to rest against the cold metal of the locker. "God, I have to fix this... I have to..."

A more or less ordinary Armin finally walked down the hall, heading towards his locker to dig out his books for literature class with an empty gaze in his eyes, shielded by the return of his infamous glasses.

As Eren nudged his locker door aside slightly, he caught sight of the magnificent blond figure out of the corner of his eye and inhaled again, puffing out his chest a little. Armin was right there, so ordinary and yet, to a lovesick Eren, so _ethereal_... Eren marveled at his own empty-headedness. That blesséd, _extraordinary_ guy was always right in front of him all along... He closed his locker, forged a smile to wear, and took the long run towards his best friend. _"Hey, Aru!"_

Armin looked up and swallowed hard at the sound of the familiar gruff tone... _'Why does Eren have to make this even harder than it already is?'_ he thought. His heart sank as the foot steps of his sprinting friend grew louder and louder until he was right there beside him in the noisy hallway. "Eren..."

Eren did indeed have an improved smile upon seeing that sweet face again, as well as a blush over his cheeks. "I'm so glad to see you, are you feeling any better?" the frantic lover asked.

"I-- I'm fine, but..."

"--Here." Eren enthusiastically handed him the intriguing item he'd been carrying around that morning: an elaborate bouquet of Pocky. "This is for you..."

Armin's eyes widened at the lovely gift. "Oh, wow... Is this all Pocky?"

"Most of it! I canceled that thing Connie and I were gonna do at the gym on Saturday, and we went to the international market instead. I got all your favorite Pocky, and some Hi-Chews, and some-- well, I don't actually know what this stuff is, but it's really cute and interesting looking, so I thought you might like it! And Connie found some of... whatever the hell these are, and then I went home to assemble and decorate it myself!"

Armin looked over the less-than-perfect icing job, (amused because Eren likely had to Google a lot of tutorials for this)... He scanned the lollipop chocolate bunnies, the hearts and stars that Eren threw in, the candy garlands, the various wrapped candies, (like Hi-Chews and Kit Kats), bundled in, the big decoden-styled chocolate bar with cutesy candy animals and matcha Pocky tacked all over it... He traced his finger over the pretty red and gold-trimmed tissue paper it was all wrapped in and the foreign candy shaped like ice cream and teddy bears that Eren couldn't name, bundled in with pretty dessert Pocky... And he especially admired the characters piped in milk chocolate across a cluster of decorated strawberry Pocky. "You wrote my name in hiragana..."

"Uh huh! I used your Instagram handle for reference." He grinned. "Do you like it?..."

Armin blushed, and bubbled with deeply conflicted feelings, but couldn't help smiling at his companion... "I-- I love it, but-- Eren, what is this for?"

"It's because you're... -the best!" His grin fell crooked as his nervousness got the better of him... "You're the best..." 

Armin's expression didn't change. He'd sworn he'd never get his hopes up again, and so refused to, even with something like this...

"A-and um-- to say I'm sorry... for whatever I did to upset you."

"Oh, Eren, you didn't do anything wrong." he tried to assure him, certainly feeling guilty he'd been neglecting his best friend. "I'm sorry I haven't been talking to you, I just... need some space."

"Say no more! I-- won't get in your way for the rest of the day. You just enjoy that bouquet," he beamed, gesturing to the sweet gift Armin delicately clutched in his hands, trying to keep his own hands from trembling again. "and I'll... see you later!" Eren smiled at Armin for a moment, awkwardly but sweetly, and finally turned to head into chemistry class.

Armin watched as Eren marched off, tempted to wonder what the gesture really meant, but refusing to let his brain ponder on it any further to avoid inevitable heartbreak... Still though, he couldn't stop smiling as he admired the hand made bouquet in his grasp, a faint glimmer returning to his eyes...

Eren scolded himself as he trudged off to homeroom/chemistry to be counted in attendance before ditching class for his next mission... _'What was I thinking?... Just jumping in, trying to go from friends to lovers like that? After he clearly wanted nothing to do with me all weekend? Fuck me... Time to go with plan B. I knew I should've made it plan A...'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Eren Yeager I really do... There is no point to this author's note, I just really love him lol


	4. Friendship Bracelet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After feeling the Pocky bouquet didn't quite get the message across like he wanted it to, Eren decides to take another loving approach to winning Armin back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to add a section to the previous chapter that was going to appear in here, so I hope you re-read that one if you missed it.^^'

As promised, Eren stayed out of Armin's way and didn't bother him with texts or anything else that would invade his space that Monday. But his thoughts were _flooded_ with Armin nonstop... Really, they had been since last Thursday... but really, in all honesty, they had been since they met as children... 

Along with planning and making the bouquet that weekend, Eren had also been bookmarking various tutorials for something else, in case the bouquet went wrong. Since the bouquet went over pretty well, but still didn't win over Armin's glowing eyes, and Armin was still pushing him away afterwards, Eren spent all of Monday night working on plan B: _a friendship bracelet._ Their relationship meant the world to Eren and he was _determined_ to make sure Armin knew it.

When Eren called Mikasa back on Thursday night to rave to her after his epiphany in the backyard, she suggested he remind Armin how much their friendship meant to him, considering Armin might be feeling under appreciated or something. Eren wasn't too sure what that meant, since he'd always been dedicated to Armin, as far as he knew, but he was willing to try anything to fix this, and furthermore, to try and win his heart...

* * *

When they were kids, Armin's parents planned to send him to a summer camp to get him out of the house for their summer stay-cation. When Eren heard this, he suggested Armin just stay with him at his house all month instead. Since that was a cheaper option to get Armin out of their busy way, his parents agreed and Eren enjoyed a whole month of Armin's constant company. Carla being the type A parent she was, (and a big fan of Armin's since he kept Eren out of trouble), played camp director and set up fun little activities for the boys to do all throughout the month. From camping in the backyard, to scavenger hunts in the house, she ensured they had a great time.

Eren's personal favorite memory was camping out in the backyard. He would tell Armin scary stories about giants who lived just outside their yard, dying to eat them, which was why his parents put up the big stone walls. Armin would shiver in fear, despite knowing how irrational it was, and cuddle up to his fierce-eyed friend, much to Eren's delight. Eren would hug him and guiltily assure him it was a made up story, and that he would _definitely_ protect him from any monster who would try to eat him...

Armin's favorite memory, however, was making friendship bracelets. Eren had a pretty hard time making Armin's, finding the knots and strings endlessly confusing, and kept forgetting to add the charms and beads he wanted. It took forever, and looked incredibly mediocre by the time he finished it, but ashamed of it as he was, he gave Armin his best work... and Armin _adored_  it. Armin presented the more refined and better looking bracelet he'd made to Eren, and it was met with a bright grin. Once they tied the bracelets round each other's wrists, their eyes met for a moment, and Eren held up his left fist to affectionately bump Armin's right...

* * *

Eren had lost that bracelet years ago. And since Armin surely lost his too, he hoped the nostalgia and memory that would come with this new bracelet might warm Armin back up to his company. He stopped at the store for some high quality colored string and various beads on Monday afternoon, and spent all evening and night tying them into two matching bracelets, using a knot pattern he found after scrupulous searching on Google. The original plan was to weave real golden beads into the bracelet for Armin, but as it turned out, Eren's allowance wouldn't cover gold... He did, however, manage to come across a set of lovers' charms splitting the Yin and Yang symbol in half, which he _knew_ Armin would appreciate. Though not _much_ better than the bracelet he wove for Armin as kids, it was made with all his love, and it definitely showed.

Eren ran into school at lunch time on Tuesday, about 3 periods late from having overslept that morning after working all night. He bolted down the halls and into the cafeteria, scouring the many tables for that gorgeous blond hair when at last, he spotted it next to Mikasa and Marco sitting at the geeks' table in the front of the cafeteria. A wide smile and blush emerged over Eren's face and he hastily rushed over to Armin's side.

Armin chewed his sandwich slowly, still feeling empty, and wishing he'd brought the rest of the candy from Eren's bouquet with him to remove the bland bitter taste of Wall High's lunch from his mouth... Marco rattled on about some badge he'd just gotten in boy scouts to the ever-polite Mikasa, but Armin couldn't be less interested. Instead he reluctantly wondered what Eren might be up to right now, and if he was still missing him...

_"Armin!"_

The familiar guttural voice suddenly awoke Armin back to reality, as the familiar masculine figure appeared by his side. Armin turned to him in surprise. "Eren..."

Eren smiled down at him before glancing around at the eyes of all the other geeks staring at him. "...Armin, can I talk to you in private, please?"

 _"Ooooh!"_ Hitch mocked from the far end of the table.

Armin blushed and adjusted his glasses. "Umm--"

"I-it'll only take a minute. Please..."

Armin's lips parted, as he had no real reason to say no to his friend, nor a desire to listen to Marco drone on anymore, and so reluctantly agreed. "Okay... Just a minute."

Eren's grin widened as Armin stood up. He took him by the hand, as he so often did before, "Come on, let's go!" and pulled him away from the table before Armin even had a chance to excuse himself...

"Eren already missed half the day, why'd he even bother to show up?" Hitch asked with a tinge of envy in her voice at Eren's privilege to sleep in.

Mikasa solemnly watched her best friends exit the cafeteria and simply said, "He finally realized what was most important to him." before taking a petite bite of her own sandwich.

-

Eren walked Armin over to his locker, as it was just a few feet from the cafeteria, and grasped his arms affectionately.

"Eren, what is this about?" Armin asked curiously.

"I've got something for you."

"Hm? Another something?"

"Mhm. I wanted to remind you how much you mean to me, so... I made you this." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the bracelets with nervous enthusiasm.

"Uhm... a friendship bracelet?"

"Yep! I remembered the old ones we made as kids, and I wanted to make you this new one as a reminder of how important our relationship is to me. Look, I even gave yours a Yang charm! And mine has a Yin. Because... that's what _we_ are..."

Armin blushed and his eyes widened, trying not to lose his head to the butterflies in his stomach over Eren remembering the significance of Yin and Yang...

Eren met Armin's gaze, trying not to hyperventilate and fighting the urge to break eye contact out of shyness. "...Th-they're sterling silver too!" He continued, calling attention back to Armin's bracelet, woven in gold and white string with spiraling knots, complementing Eren's matching black and grey one. He pointed to the star charms that dangled at the ends opposite the Yin and Yang charms. "So are the stars on the end by the clasps. And my brother has a bunch of those beads with water from Mount Everest and dirt from uhh- uhh..."

"The Dead Sea?"

"Yes! Exactly, ah, I'm glad you're so smart."

Armin raised an eyebrow and looked away, trying to suppress his flattery for the comment.

Eren cleared his throat and simply continued, pointing to the repurposed beads he salvaged on the bracelet. "Anyway, I borrowed those for these, because you and I are gonna see the whole world together. From top to bottom, --like those beads are supposed represent. We're gonna make it _ours!"_ He grinned, forming an enthusiastic fist in excitement like he always did when he reminded Armin of their dream.

Armin swallowed, finding it hard to resist that dream of theirs and smiled slightly at his friend's sweetness...

Eren blushed. "Since we lost our old ones, this'll be a much better replacement." He declared proudly, holding Armin's up to him, wondering when might be the best time now to come out and confess how he felt about his dream guy standing there before him... 

"...Actually I still have my old one." Armin noted. "It's hanging on a tack right beside my bed. I've even worn it on our guys' nights, recently..."

"..." Eren flushed, feeling like both of his feet flew into his mouth at once. Armin still had that old scrappy thing? And still _wore_  it? Eren lost his within a month! Yet here Armin was, at 15, still wearing his and Eren didn't even notice... "R-really?..."

Armin nodded yes.

"Wow... Uh-umm... Well-- here, have this one anyway... If you want." He feigned a smile and handed the new bracelet to his friend.

Armin smiled and accepted the lovely gift, tracing the knot spiral with his finger and appreciating the shoddy but dedicated craftsmanship of the wonderfully sweet Eren Yeager. The Yang charm dangled between two silver beads in the middle, and sent his heart all aflutter... Eren had obviously looked up the symbol and carefully chose which character Armin should have, and Armin couldn't help feeling a warm pride in his chest. Eren considered him his Yang... He said so himself. He beamed at his companion, eyes shining a little, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "This is wonderful, Eren, thank you."

"...You really like it, then?"

"Yes, of course I do! You're a good friend." He told him, simpering a little...

"A... a good friend?" Eren repeated, warmed by the compliment and hope that their friendship might be saved... but aching a little at being called just a good friend when his heart was absolutely _**gushing**_ with love for Armin...

Armin blushed. "Mmhm... We should talk soon."

Eren forced a smile. At least he did manage to repair their friendship, it seemed... "Yeah. We should..."

Armin smiled back... "See you later..." and sauntered contentedly back to the cafeteria.

Eren watched him go. They might be friends again at least... but once more, Armin was walking away from him... The ache in his heart returned... "See you later..."

 


	5. Mix CD

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren decides to try the most overused American Romance cliché in the book: A mix tape-- er, A mix CD!

Eren was running out of ideas, (and absence excuses), but he'd been mulling over a big and scary idea all week and it seemed desperate times called for desperate measures...

Armin was the only person who was ever allowed to hear Eren sing. Eren had a lovely voice but an uncooperative body so it sounded pretty terrible in front of others. But Armin always brought out the best feelings in Eren, along with comfortable confidence, and thus when they were alone together, Eren could sing like any normal person... No better than any normal person, but he could carry a tune at least. And Armin certainly loved it... There was especially a sort of magic Eren could never explain when it was a love song on the radio that he was singing to Armin in the car... He guffawed at himself now, still wondering how on earth he managed to deny his obvious feelings for Armin for this long. But it was no use wondering, of course he knew why he'd put himself in denial: he was _terrified_.

Eren took pride in being courageous and strong minded. He laughed in the face of danger and refused to fall to fear, no matter what kind of threats were stacked up against him. Bullies? Forget about 'em. Dumb adults? Fuck em! "The Man"? Eren was his OWN man. Romance?... Romance was scary... Or rather, _Armin_  was scary... When they were kids, Armin charmed and fascinated him. He thrilled and excited him. He made him smile and laugh... and he made his heart beat... and he made his body feel so warm whenever he was around... and he made his cheeks feel like they were glowing as red and bright as fire, especially when those eyes sparkled... Eren would get overwhelmed. He'd get all sweaty, and anxious, and tongue tied, and feared his brain would shut down altogether if he didn't stop thinking about it, nor would his body be able to handle it. So in defense of his sanity, he'd put himself in denial. Eren cursed himself for it in the back of his mind as sheer cowardice... It was easier to deny when he got older, when society started presenting popular excuses for him; like "brotherly love", "bromance", "close camaraderie", "meaningless guy crush", etc. etc... Eren kept subconsciously forcing himself into those ideas, hoping the feelings would disappear eventually... But 6 years later his body still felt warm when Armin was by his side, his words would trip over themselves if Armin was too charming, his heart would jump and flutter about in his chest when Armin laughed, and 6 years later he would still look into that blond work of God's shimmering eyes and wonder what the right answer was...

At last, Eren was ready to take the risk. And he decided to use his least inclined art form to express that. He was going to sing Armin's favorite song, a Japanese pop song, using English love-lyrics written by himself, set to a karaoke version of the song, and put it on a romantic mix CD of songs for Armin. He got the idea from the classic cliché romantic American gesture of a mix tape, but decided on making a CD instead since it was short notice and there were no tape players handy. After the friendly heartbreak over the friendship bracelet, Eren ran back home right away on Tuesday and set to work on the song. As expected, it took him _hours_ to rewrite the foreign lyrics into something legibly poetic in English for his Armin-version, and at no point did he feel very confident in his work... but he wanted Armin to know how he felt. After 6 long years he desperately wanted Armin to know how he felt... Eren knew Armin would understand what a brave risk this was to him and so deemed it the most courageous romantic gesture he could think of. And the real tip of the sword: _Eren's direct love confession was at the end of the song..._

At 2pm on Wednesday afternoon, Eren came in late to school again, just to give Armin his CD. He was exhausted, sweaty, pale, and trembling because he knew there was no going back after this... This CD contained a pretty damn explicit confession of his feelings, after all. Armin would either reject him or accept him and there would definitely, without a doubt, be no more complacent, hidden feelings between them anymore... It would result in a pretty plain and simple "Yes." or "No." from the man of Eren's dreams... Eren wandered the school grounds in search of his companion, his palms sweating as he clutched the CD in his hands. Though normally he sounded lovely when singing with/for Armin, now that he was _aware_  of his own overwhelming feelings, and, worst of all, afraid of how Armin felt in return, he didn't exactly sound too beautiful... He did the best he could to sing it that morning after a rough night's sleep, preceded by grueling hours of writing, but surely Armin would appreciate the raw honesty...

He'd called up Mikasa _late_ last night, much to her annoyance, to send her the rewritten lyrics and to ask her if she thought they were okay. After a moment of silence while Mikasa read the stanzas, playing the music along in her head, she made her judgement. The lyrics were clumsy, amateur, a little embarrassing, and awkward... but sincere, heartfelt, and clearly written by a lover who would do anything for his beloved. It was so sweet she couldn't even bother herself to feel jealous. "He's going to love it..." she promised him.

Eren wished he could just believe her words but still found himself breathing heavily while he searched the campus for Armin during his study hall period. Finally, there he was, with his laptop open, sitting under the tree in the courtyard with Marco, discussing their algebra homework... Eren smiled a little just for seeing Armin again, and inhaled deeply before taking the brave walk over to him.

Armin was smiling enough at the moment since Marco made a pretty good study-buddy, despite being pretty boring otherwise. But he made a wide grin seeing Eren approaching... _"Hey!"_

Eren looked over at the angelic fellow adorably adjusting his pointless glasses under the tree, so happy to see him grinning again and so glad to be greeted rather than pushed away... He picked up the pace and jogged over to meet him. "Hey..."

"Are you okay, Eren? You look kinda pale and sweaty... Do you feel feverish?" Armin asked sweetly from the ground, resisting the old habit he had of reaching out to feel Eren's forehead for a temperature when he looked unwell.

"I--"

"You have been missing a lot of school this week. Maybe you should see a doctor. Or in your case I guess your dad." Marco chuckled.

Armin simply ignored Marco's dry attempts at humor to focus on Eren. "If you need something, I can walk you to the nurse's office."

Eren sighed... Seriously, how on earth was someone so wonderful right there in front of him the entire time? If lovesickness counted as an illness, then he _definitely_  had a debilitating fever. "I'm okay, really... Just a little stressed."

"Oh, I'm sorry..." Armin lamented, feeling so guilty that Eren was unwell while he was trying to distance himself. "Do you wanna talk?--"

"Nope!" Eren assured him, holding up his hand. "You just worry about your algebra there, and I'll get out of your space, but first... Uhh... H-here." He held out the encased (and sweaty) CD with his trembling hand, inciting another blush from Armin.

"Another gift?" Armin accepted the present with flattery, but before he could take his hand back, Eren's began stroking it...

"...Please listen to it later... It'd mean a lot to me." He requested with deep sincerity in his eyes as they gazed intensely into Armin's.

Armin blushed again, conflicting emotions tying his tongue, and instincts all perplexed, (never minding how sweaty the affectionate hand was)... He simply nodded _yes._

Eren nodded back... "See you..." He nodded goodbye to Marco and took one last look at Armin, wishing those glasses weren't there so he could see whether there were a glimmer in his eyes or not. Finally, he solemnly turned around to walk back home...

Armin looked down at the gift in his hands, wrestling with himself about what to feel… He definitely missed his best friend, and he felt horrible for pushing him away, and the distance between them still hadn’t cured his heartache… And if he didn’t know any better, he could swear Eren’s eyes were begging _him_  for an answer to an unspoken question… He read the label on the CD written in Sharpie beneath the clear plastic case: **Armin <3.**

"..." Marco was tempted to ask what was going on between his classmate and Eren after piquing his curiosity with a cryptic interaction like that, but decided against it. He was never one to meddle in the business of others, (even though the feelings Eren and Armin had for each other were always so obvious to everyone around them). "...So, what did you get for number 4?"

"Hmm? Oh, uhh... 24.8..." Armin replied wistfully...

* * *

The school day had ended and Armin decided to skip the anime club meeting in favor of just going home. He walked slowly, deep in thought, wondering about Eren and what he should do… Distancing himself from him didn’t feel so good, nor did it feel good having to hurt Eren all week by not talking to him, but he couldn’t play bromance for the rest of his heart-aching life either… However, there was something different about the way Eren was looking at him that week… Armin smiled ever so slightly to himself. His heart was still heavily guarded, but knowing how much Eren cared about him couldn’t feel more wonderful… “You know what? I bet this CD is really nice… I can’t wait to listen to it.” He told himself, and unconsciously picked up the pace to get home. He unlocked the front door and began running upstairs through the quiet house.

"Mini-man, is that you?" A yawny gruff voice greeted.

Armin paused near the top of the stair case, still revving and practically jogging in place for how quickly he wanted to get to his room and play the CD. "Sorry, grandpa, I didn't mean to wake you!"

"What are you doing home so early, don't you have a club meeting tonight?" He continued, calling from the living room couch in the other room.

"I skipped it so I could look at the new present Eren gave me!" Armin beamed.

"Another one? Does this mean you guys worked things out?" He asked, wondering if his age-worn memory slipped yet again.

"Well-- Nn--... I-it's complicated..." He managed, playing with his hair and blushing to himself as he thought of Eren...

"Gotcha, you still don't wanna talk about it. Well, wake me when it's time for dinner!" The happy old man concluded before rolling back over to finish his nap on the couch until Armin was ready to fix dinner.

"'Kay!" He called back without hesitation as he ran excitedly up the rest of the stairs and into his room.

Armin tossed his backpack on his bed and rushed to pulled out his laptop and his charger from the pockets, giddily settling himself on the mattress in preparation to play the CD. Once the computer was awake and running, he pulled out the disc and paused to take a deep breath, in and out. He closed his eyes and collected his thoughts... Whatever this was, bromantic or not, Armin insisted to himself that he would enjoy himself for the few minutes of playing the mix Eren picked out for him... He removed his glasses, opened his eyes, gently removed the CD from its finger print-covered case, and slid it delicately into the laptop's disc slot...

The computer read the disc with it's pleasant mechanical sounds and quickly opened iTunes revealing a playlist of 10 songs to Armin in clear view, titled, like the disc itself: Armin<3

Armin smiled at the song choices, blushing at how many of them were love songs and intrigued by all of Eren's choices:

  1. _"I Really Like You"_ by Carly Rae Jepson, (one of Eren's favorite artists in a "tsundere" way, as Armin always said.)
  2. _"I Want To Hold Your Hand"_ by The Beatles, (a quirky choice, Armin thought, but a very _Eren_ selection.)
  3. _"Lucky"_ by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat, (one of Armin's guilty pleasure songs he liked to associate with his crush on Eren...)
  4. _"A Tale of a Sleeping Prince"_ , from the _Yuri!!! On Ice_  soundtrack, (a cheesy English-sung J-Pop song, and a curious choice...)
  5. _"Call Your Name"_ (a popular sad rock song that Eren adored).
  6. _"Where No One Goes"_ by Jonsí from the _How to Train Your Dragon_  soundtrack.
  7. _"Bright"_ by Echosmith, (a star themed love song by an alternative music group).
  8. _"Houseki"_ by Inoue Marina, an anime song Armin was always fond of.
  9. _"A Whole New World"_ from _Aladdin_.
  10. And a mysterious one titled _"Armin's Dream..."_



Since Armin recognized all the others, he decided to play the mystery one first and so donned his earphones before excitedly double clicking the track title... As the familiar music to his favorite song _"Moshi Kono Kabe..."_ started, he was already beyond enticed... and then he heard Eren's voice...

It whispered _"Armin..."_ over the short ambient intro, before giving a passionate performance of what were apparently personalized lyrics...

_"...Hey, love, close your eyes and tell me if, our little world were only in my backyard,_

_would you mind if we unlocked the gate, that leads to grander wonders waiting there outside?_

_Could you trust in me to keep you warm? And keep me feeling strong when the journey gets hard?_

_And hold me tight, and hold my hand, while we endure the long and endless uphill fight?_

_Though the world may doubt our love and dreams, won't you still believe in our heart beat's power?_

_We beat as one, we dream as one and think as one and we feel as one, so please trust in me to make this wild free world ours._

_Through rain and storms, I don't care at all, man eating monsters or being stuck in stone walls,_

_Whatever **they**  can throw, you and I can **overthrow** ,_

_so rise with me and lets fly away to see the world of wonders that we always dreamed_

_Take the leap of faith, it's our destiny, you and I were meant to adventure out into the greater world and to see all that there is to see_

_Together, you and I, partners for life, never giving up, even if the world is looking down on us for our crazy will to dream on_

_Firey rivers burning bright, mountains of everlasting ice, deserts blanketed with sand, and steaming rain forests_

_Every place we've ever dreamed, our real home's just waiting for us..._

_My love, tell me are you ready to take that step outside my backyard?_

_Won't you take my hand and lead me to the grander wonders waiting for us outside?..."_

Once the song faded out, a teary-eyed Armin heard the sound of Eren's deep voice in his ear, sweetly speaking through the earbuds and sending shivers down his spine, as if he were actually there in person... _"Armin, you mean the world to me... Please, remember our promise. Our dream... I want to see the world with you. I want to spend my life with you. I love you."_

Armin blushed all over, smiling bigger and grander than he'd smiled all week, or maybe ever! He'd never felt so special, and so loved, and his heart practically leapt into the sky to hear Eren say _"I love you"_ so sincerely... He replayed the song, danced to it, and sang along with it, wishing Eren were there so that he could harmonize with him in person, hug him tight, dance with him, and tell him _"I love you too!"_. He played the whole playlist, feeling like he was as high as the clouds, soaring on the love of Eren Yeager for every song in the list. In the middle of the fourth replay of _"Armin's Dream"_ , which made him cry every single time, Armin finally ripped out his earphones and ran over to his sock drawer to dig out his iPhone, which he'd been tucking away in there throughout the week to keep himself from the temptation to text Eren. He hastily unlocked it, pulled up Eren's number, and held his thumb over the _call_  button, with sparkling eyes and a bright grin, and then... he paused...

His anxiety finally caught back up to him in his lover's rush and Armin began second guessing himself... What reason did he have to think this was a _romantic_  gesture? After all, he and Eren had always been very close, as affectionate as most romantic couples in a lot of ways... They cuddled, held hands, shared food and drinks, spent every Friday night snuggled together under a blanket on Eren's couch watching movies & doing all of the above, and Eren said 'I love you' all the time, usually followed by 'best bros for life'... Why should this gesture be any different?... His new hope disappeared as quickly as it'd come.

Deciding it was best not to risk any further heartbreak when Eren had already let his heart down so many times, Armin locked his phone again, ejected the CD, closed his laptop, and put his glasses back on, heading downstairs to cook dinner for his tired grandpa...

* * *

On Thursday morning, now one week since Armin "broke up" with him and Eren had his epiphany, he sulked through the hallways at school. His body felt too exhausted from anxiously waiting around last night for Armin to call or text him about the mix CD to feel anything at the moment and so he simply wandered his way into homeroom, going through the empty motions of every day.

Connie perked up when Eren walked in, and strolled over to greet him, taking a seat on the desktop in front of Eren's. "Hey, man. You doin' okay?"

Eren shook his head no, his eyes looking as empty and cold as a foggy winter morning.

"What happened, did he like the song?"

"I don't know..."

"You mean he didn't get back to you?"

Eren shook his head no again.

Mikasa grew wary of seeing Eren frown and finally came over to join in the condolences. "Eren, maybe you should stop trying so hard..."

Connie grinned in agreement. "Yeah! He said he'd start talking to you again, right? Have you considered just talking to him about this, plain and simple?"

"I'd _love_ to just talk to him, but obviously he's still kind of giving me the cold shoulder, here... Maybe I should've called him last night, but I didn't wanna press him..."

Connie and Mikasa weren't too sure of what to say... They knew as well as anyone who ever saw the pair together that Armin was head over heels for Eren. Why wouldn't he accept the returned affections?

This whole ordeal should've been easy for Eren and Armin. But instead it was like their world was crumbling all around them...

Mikasa looked up and saw that Armin was approaching the homeroom door and alerted Connie to act cool and prepare to move should the two require privacy.

"Eren!" Armin called with a stable smile below his clickity glasses.

Eren looked up, the beat of his heart rushing to crescendo once again at the sight of a happy Armin coming his way.

"That song was great! I don't know why you think you can't sing." He laughed.

Eren's eyes began to light up again. "You... you really liked it?"

"Uh huh! You should post that online! It's very charming, and who knows what kind of attention you'd get there." He suggested sincerely.

Eren blushed and smiled awkwardly... "Wait, so... Does that mean you...?"

"Hmm?"

"You...?"

Armin looked at him blankly, searching for a sign of his best friend's true intentions with the CD...

"...Never mind, I'm just tired. Glad you liked it, thanks for listening."

As usual: a neutral, seemingly-platonic answer was all Armin ever got from Eren... He smiled back with a dear warmth for his good friend and nodded "Mm."

Eren's flicker of hope blew out again as the tardy bell rang.

"Oh, I've got to go. I'll text you later, okay? We should catch up."

Eren looked at that darling smile of his, wondering how anyone could endure a heartache like this... "Yeah. Okay. See you later..."

"See you!" And out the door Armin went...

Eren was stunned... After homeroom, he took himself home yet again...

\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those shoddily reworked lyrics I wrote should probably be even shoddier if Eren wrote them, but we'll say it was a real labor of love lol
> 
> I'm so tired right now from all this writing i can totally relate to his labor-related exhaustion ^^;;


	6. Better Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren confronts his inferiority complex in relation to his love for Armin.

Little Armin poked his head out from behind the big bush near the wall surrounding Eren's backyard. The innocent 9 year old's eyes glanced all around, finding no sign of his playmate... He wandered out into the middle of the grass clearing, knowing it made him an open target, but he preferred a battle to hiding all day... He kept his senses sharp, listening for a rustle behind the rose bushes lined along the sidewalk, knowing that was the _obvious_  hiding place for a waiting ambush but surprisingly heard nothing from that direction...

 **"ROAR!!!!"** growled a monstrous voice from behind as Armin was tackled into a playful grasp.

Armin howled in surprise and laughter at the attack, and quickly admitted defeat as he wriggled himself free. "Okay, okay, I give!"

Eren grinned as he released his happy prey, standing tall and chuckling with pride. "I'm getting better at outsmarting you, I think!"

"You're definitely good at surprising me."

Eren blushed. "Really?"

"Really! I had no idea where you might've come from this time."

 _"Is that so?"_ Eren began teasing his buddy with various light pinches and gentle grabs at his waist, tummy, and arms. _"Really? Is that so? You were surprised?"_ He impishly repeated with more playful touches and pokes that sent the ticklish Armin into a laughing fit as they maneuvered towards the "base", which was always Carla's apple tree near the porch.

The giddy blond finally fell to the ground on his back, laughing in the soft green grass, illuminated by the filtered light from the blooming apple tree's crown.

Eren eventually followed suit, and let himself fall to the ground, landing in the plush grass beside his companion, both giggling and trying to catch their breath. Eren let out a happy sigh and moved over to the tree trunk to sit, resting contentedly with his back against it. He closed his eyes and smiled, wondering what could be better than a day like today, playing with his best friend...

Armin's half lidded eyes scanned the tree blossoms above, admiring their lovely charming aesthetic... He sat up and turned his head upwards, smiling to himself in amusement at the natural beauty of the tree.

Eren opened an eye to find his friend looking longingly at the flowers above, with a lovely smile on his face. Inspired, he considered that giving Armin one of those blossoms might make him smile even _more_  and found himself wishing to be the person that gave him that smile... "You want one?"

"Oh--" Armin turned to face him graciously. "Th-that's alright, I don't need one." He declined with a flattered smile.

"It's no trouble, I can do it!" Little Eren insisted, standing up and braving himself to climb the thin curvaceous trunk to retrieve Armin's flower.

"Oh, Eren, really, it's okay! I don't think you can make it up there..."

"You say that now but you'll be surprised when I climb right up there and bring one down to you." He grinned, forming a confident fist to pep-talk himself. "No, a whole _bunch,_ even! Just wait right here." he kindly ordered, turning around to begin climbing.

"Please don't get hurt..." Armin pleaded sadly.

"Have no fear!" Eren grunted, trying to pretend he wasn't struggling to lift his own weight in a failing attempt to climb the little tree. "H-heh-- J-just wait a second. I'll get it." After a moment of thought, he tried jumping up onto the trunk to gain some height, only to struggle with his grip and end up back on the ground. He gritted his teeth and insisted on trying again, finally managing to grip the tree and hold himself off of the ground.

Armin watched with concern as his weak companion seemed to be on a mission to prove heaven knows what, just hoping Eren wouldn't be injured when he inevitably fell back down.

Eren kept replaying the daydream in his head of Armin's happy face and eyes when he might hand him a pretty blossom, determined to prove to himself he could perform this simple deed. He strained and growled as he grabbed the lowest branch, trying to pull himself up onto it, breaking a sweat in the process as his trembling muscles were determined to let him down... He looked down at Armin, who still looked at him with concern and utter disbelief that he could climb the tree... "Hrrrgh **\--Agh!** " Eren cried as he shot himself forward, successfully hanging on to the branch, dangling a few feet or so off of the ground.

Armin was surprised... Though he didn't want to root for his friend's recklessness, he couldn't help but feel a thrill to see him do that. He gave Eren a more confident grin and watched intently for his next move.

Eren grinned back, believing that he could definitely do this now! He looked over at the branch leading up to the blossoms and just tried not to think about what could go wrong. He slid one hand forward and began to slide the other, but with a slip and a clumsy shout, instantly fell to the ground.

"Eren!" Armin ran over to his side and tried to help him up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Eren grumbled, pridefully insisting he could stand on his own while wiping a hidden tear of shame from his furthest eye. He wasn't injured, but the fall left him too achey and sore to try again...

Armin looked at him, feeling sad to see him fail but brought a gentle hand to his shoulder and gave him a sweet smile to comfort him.

Eren looked into those eyes and looked away again. Rather than feel comforted, he felt like he'd just proven himself a big let down. "I'm sorry I couldn't reach the flowers..."

Armin blushed, so honored that Eren would be so motivated by something as simple as pleasing him, but insisted he let it go. "Oh, Eren, I said I didn't need one. Just rest, please. Stay down here in the grass with me!" He beamed, taking Eren's hand in his as he knelt down to take a seat against the tree.

Eren blushed and obeyed the blond's request with an immense inexplicable fluttery feeling in his little stomach. He sat against the tree like he normally did and felt the sweet blond's head crash softly against his shoulder, his hand still holding his... This... was an even better scenario than what he daydreamed... but he still wished he could've given him that apple blossom like he knew he wanted...

* * *

 

Eren leaned against the glass of the back door, staring at that blooming twilit apple tree they used to play under as kids... He sighed, fogging up the glass, and closed his eyes before turning away. His heavy body carried itself into a seat at the dining table just a few feet away, where he sat wondering what to do with himself in this hellish situation, and wishing adults would take it seriously enough to give him some _real_  advice...

A few loud but unheard stomps came from the basement staircase as Zeke appeared in the kitchen to find a snack. He almost didn't see Eren sitting there while he was rummaging in the fridge for his fake crab strips, but after taking a long drink of citrus flavored water, inquired about his troubles. "Hey, little bro, what's the matter with you?"

Eren didn't move or speak.

"Alright." Seeing as he was gonna have to play hardball about it, Zeke pulled out a chair for himself and joined Eren at the dining table. "Come on, spill it. There's no use just sitting here all evening. Ooh, unless you're meditating?"

"I'm just depressed." He mumbled.

Now Zeke knew he was _really_  upset, considering his lack of scoffs and swears at the subject. "Is this still over Armin?"

"..."

"I see. Maybe you're trying too hard."

Eren's face scrunched a frown in sad shame and heartbreak. He clutched the fabric of his sleeve, wishing he were a different person altogether...

"Have you considered just talking to him?"

 **"How is it you people go from _'give him some space'_ to _'just talk to him'_ like you have any semblance of the actual issue here?!!"** he finally shouted, and swallowed hard as he hid his eyes with his interlaced hands.

Zeke watched with genuine sympathy as his angsty little brother was trying to force himself not to cry, and doing a poor job of it... "You really do love him, don't you?"

Eren nodded. A sob forced its way out of his mouth and the tears fell right onto the table. "I always have..."

"I thought you didn't like him until last week."

"I've _ALWAYS_ liked him, I just never let myself _believe_ it or _do_ anything about it cuz I'm an _idiot_ , and it's complicated, and it's horrible, and I feel like I'm gonna throw up every time I think about him now, and I just... wanna _be with him_..." he wept, rubbing his wet face in his hands

Zeke struggled to think of a way to respond to this _'overly dramatic teenage drama'_ without giving away Armin's well known crush on Eren, but decided to at least clear up one thing that'd been bothering him about this whole mess. "Why are you trying so hard to win him over, hmm? Do you think he's the kind of person who wants a lot of pointless gestures? Why do you keep putting yourself through the wringer over this?"

Eren sniffled grossly. "Because I've been wasting _years_  trying to drill into our heads that we're just _best bros_ and I need to make up for lost time. And I need a way that makes my true feelings loud and clear. And, I dunno, I need to prove myself worthy or something."

"Why?"

 _"Why what?!"_ Eren growled annoyedly.

"Why do you need to prove yourself?"

Eren forced down the growing lump in his throat to finally say his worst fear out loud. "...Because Armin's the most wonderful, extraordinary guy in the world... and I'm just... me. If I can't prove that I'm more than just some regular asshole then what good am I gonna be to him? He wants to see the world with someone special... **What if _I can't give him that?_** What if I'm not good enough for him?... He should pity me and reject me as soon as possible. He _should_  push me away, and reach out for something better... And I'd _love_  to just talk to him but he's still being weird and distant with me while I'm festering away here. I gave a pretty direct confession in that song I sang for him too but for some reason he didn't even seem to notice it! So what am I _supposed_  to do?..."

Zeke listened on and stroked his beard in thought, not noticing the figure in the doorway approach to listen in... "Mhmm. Mhmm. Hmm... Alright, then, here's what you do... You'll stage an accident--"

 _"ALRIGHT, THAT'S ENOUGH!!!"_ Carla scolded as she stormed into the room. "I don't know what you're talking about but there will be no sons of mine staging any accidents, this isn't some b-grade sitcom, you two."

"Ow!" Zeke cried as Carla pulled his ear. "With all due respect, Carla, I'm not your son."

"No, but you're living in my basement, so kindly go downstairs while _I_  advise my son..."

Zeke blushed and feigned dignity as he stood tall, strolling out of the room. "Call me if you need anymore advice Eren!"

Eren kept his gaze at the table, inciting concern from his mother as she sat down beside him. "You okay, sweetie? Are you not feeling well?" she asked, tilting his jaw up to look over his face and neck for any signs of sickness.

Eren remained silent and only looked at her with big, sad, glassy, puppy dog eyes and tear soaked cheeks...

"...Don't tell me Armin's still mad at you. That was a whole week ago!"

"I'm just feeling sh-- _bad_  about myself, because I'm nothing special... I can't be the amazing person I wanna be, I can't be the extraordinary guy I wanna be, and I can't be Ar-- _people's_  hero... Who's gonna love somebody who's not special?... Especially when the people you love most _are_..."

"Hmm... Do you have to be special to be loved?"

"Well--... I thought so."

"I don't think so. I don't think you need a thousand merits, or a parade with a big bannered float, or a whole lot of uniqueness to be loved. And you needn't be extraordinary to be special either. I knew my baby was special from the minute I saw him."

"How'd you know?"

Carla grinned and pinched his cheeks. _"Because you're sho cute!"_

Eren cracked a smile, annoyed, but comforted.

"You were already special just for being born into this world. Never mind the people who don't recognize that." She insisted, wiping away Eren's tears. Her tone then became a little firmer. "Because the ones who do recognize how special you are, will always stay with you... And you are already very loved _just for being who you are_..." She winked.

Eren wiped his eyes and smiled again. "Thanks, mom."

"No problem. Good luck, hun." she beamed, and got up to walk down into the basement to do the laundry while Zeke watched _ESPN_.

Eren held himself... _Armin_  was the one who made him feel more loved and special than anyone else... Everything was so easy with him. He was always honest and sincere, always supportive and kind, always dear and affectionate... Their deep "love" was always mutual... Honestly, confused heartache aside, Eren felt completely _lucky_  to be in love with his best friend. Maybe Zeke was right. Eren _was_  making this harder than it had to be... He stood up again and walked back over to the glass door, half knowing what he should do, but still unsure... Big gestures and displays of passion and raw honesty  _wouldn't_  do him any good in winning Armin's heart... Because there was no _genuineness_  about it and nothing to be gained. Just because the walls around were falling away, didn’t mean the world was so different... Just better... grander, sweeter, deeper, happier, _lovelier_... Carla was right. He had nothing to prove. Armin already knew him, how much he cared, how much passion he felt for their relationship, how much work he'd be willing to put in for him, and how much trust there was between them... Armin was his _best friend_... So the only thing Eren had to do in this situation was to be completely and utterly _genuine_  about his feelings with the boy he _loved_...

With a surge of bravery and newfound determination, Eren finally slid the door open and stepped out into the backyard with a plan; his sight set, and his heart set... 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really excited about next chapter~ 8) Things will go a lot smoother for these silly lovers in it lol


	7. Thaw

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren makes his final attempt to confess his love to Armin...

At age 12 on a Friday afternoon, Eren walked Armin home in the rain, to the sound of the noisy downpour and the clickety sound of Armin's damaged glasses. Both boys felt bittersweet in the chill of the water and the warmth of each other's arms as they walked... Armin was grateful the rain would wash away his blood and tears before his grandpa could see that he'd taken another harsh beating that afternoon... Eren hugged him close, just wishing he could take the pain away and wishing he were strong enough to defend his best friend on his own after losing yet another fight on his behalf. Unbeknownst to Eren though, Armin was more sore from knowing Eren was beaten miserably while he himself was too disoriented to move. Aside from the comfort of each other's company, both parties walked in shame...

Armin shivered from the cold, which prompted Eren to draw him closer, but his body wanted to reject the generous warmth. "...Eren, I wish you'd stop saving me..." he whispered into pitter-pattery ambience of the rain ahead.

Eren had to stop walking at that, halting his buddy under a flowering apple tree on the Shiganshina neighborhood sidewalk to at least somewhat shelter them from the rain. "...I will _never_ stop trying to save you."

Armin knew he would say that. Just like Eren knew Armin wished otherwise. "...I just hate seeing you get hurt, you know..." Armin mumbled as he stared at the ground, watching the raindrops plop onto the cement and disappear into the wet sidewalk.

"It's my body, I'll do whatever I want with it.” Eren defended firmly. “And I wanna save my best friend... I will _always_  protect you."

"..."

"I know you won't, but you may as well just accept that..."

"..." Armin closed his eyes while the raindrops rolled over the lenses of his scuffle-damaged glasses. He recalled those stories Eren used to tell him when they camped out in his backyard... Of man eating giants right outside their yard who wanted to eat humans and would come straight for them if it weren't for Dr. Yeager's big stone wall fence. Those stories used to terrify him. Not because of the gory concepts of being eaten, but because he knew Eren would indeed throw caution to the wind if it meant protecting him from danger... and an enemy like that which Eren could never overpower was bound to defeat him in the name of protecting his stupid useless best friend... It gave him nightmares to think about. Losing Eren to the cruel world they lived in because he just couldn’t rise above it...

Eren stared at his sad friend in the rainy silence just _wishing_... He brought a cautious and reluctant hand up towards Armin's wet face and pointlessly wiped away a few water droplets, only to see them replaced with new ones from the rain in Armin's hair and the rain from the tree leaves above... His lips parted and his twitchy finger and thumb nervously pinched the frame of those ‘placebo-specs’ he hated to see Armin wearing and slowly, bravely removed them... He found a sad, glassy eyed Armin under there, with rosy cheeks (from the cold, he assumed), knitted eyebrows over bruised eye sockets, an empty frown with a bloody bottom lip, and tearful eyes... Eren gulped silently as his thumb gently stroked over the soaking wet blond's teary eyelids, fighting empathetic tears in his own. Seeing as that dear friend of his needed it, he finally found it in him to grin brightly, and fought the blush seeking to appear in his own cheeks. "I like it so much better when you're not wearing those useless glasses..."

Armin's heart skipped a beat and his eyes began to sparkle as a shy smile creeped over his lips.

Eren quickly took a step forward and hugged Armin close to him, to warm him, comfort him, and just to soothe the urge he always felt to do so...

Armin smiled against Eren's warm chest as he hugged him back, grasping his back and shoulders over the sopping fabric of his shirt. He felt so warm and so at home like this... He _loved_ his best friend. He truly did... There was no doubt in his mind at this point that _this_ was the feeling people were referring to when they talked about being in love... It _definitely_ was... Armin stood there wondering to himself in silent wishing as they tightened their hug with a slight shift... Would Eren ever feel the same way?... Or maybe... he already _did?_... 

..."Come to my house tonight. We'll check in with your grandpa and then you'll come home with me and we can watch movies, whatever you want, and get warm on the couch with some dinner and snacks..." Eren eagerly suggested from Armin’s comfortable shoulder. He pulled away to check his response. "Please?"

"A-am I spending the night?" Armin asked, holding himself for warmth, all but forgetting how cold he was standing out there in the rain like this.

"Stay as long as you want..." Eren wistfully replied.

Armin brushed his wet hair behind his ear and gave Eren a warm happy grin below those gorgeous shimmering eyes of his...

* * *

 

Armin made his way to school, strolling along the sidewalk with a strawberry Hi-Chew in his mouth and the Yang charm of his friendship bracelet dangling from his wrist to the beat of "Moshi Kono Kabe" as it hummed from his content lips. He pulled out his phone again to double check the text from Eren he'd received last night, pulling up the conversation:

> _" **A:** Hey! How've you been? :)"_
> 
> _" **E:** Meet me in the sideyard at school tomorrow before class starts. Please. It's important."_
> 
> _" **A:** Okay... Anything else?"_
> 
> _" **E:** No. Just bring yourself."_
> 
> _" **A:** Okay..."_

_'I wonder what this is about...'_ Armin thought as he neared the school grounds, pushing his glasses back up his nose. _'Maybe he wants to cram before that test? He did miss a lot of school this week... Oh, wait. He probably wants to talk about guys' night... Aw, man, what am I gonna do about that?... I don't think I should be alone with him anymore... Maybe we can keep doing it as a group thing? I know he prefers it to be just us at his house, but... Maybe we could invite Mikasa and Marco from now on...? Hmm... I hope he's not mad at me...'_ He sighed.

Within a few minutes, Armin reached the school building and made his way to the empty sideyard where Eren asked to meet. He turned the corner and beamed to find Eren standing there waiting, as promised. _"Hey!"_

Eren looked up from his nervous slump by the brick wall of the building, and found Armin jogging towards him... He gazed intently at him and took a deep breath as he clutched an item in his hand behind his back...

Armin jounced to a stop before his silver eyed friend and greeted him with a warm grin. "How have you been?--"

"I love you." Eren declared as he handed Armin a lovely apple blossom from his mother's tree, his eyes staring right into Armin's as he said it.

"Hm?--"

_"I'm in love with you..."_

"..." Armin found himself speechless... but he accepted the blossom... He blushed, just staring at his friend, unsure if he even believed his ears, but his _eyes_ clearly saw Eren’s genuine expression...

"You don't have to say it back... It's okay. But... I _would_  like to treat you to a date tonight, if you'll let me... Please... I wanna show you what you really mean to me... Armin..." He pleaded, resting his hands over Armin's.

"--" Armin couldn't find the words he wanted to say nor could he find the power to even process the moment... His guarded heart fueled his conflicted response. "...Eren, I-- I don't know..."

"It's okay, you don't even have to answer right now. Just... come by my house later after school if you decide your answer is yes... If you don't show up, well... I'll get the message... And things can either go back to normal or we can part if that's what you want... It's up to you..." He grinned, trying to maintain a steady composure while he watched Armin's reaction.

Armin only stared... gazing back into those longing grey eyes that yearned for an answer...

"Hope I see you later..." Eren said softly. He let his hands slip off of Armin's and began turning to leave, taking one last look at his bewildered best friend whom he loved with all his heart... He waved good bye and finally left to go home and wait...

Armin stood watching as Eren turned the corner, leaving him there with a blossom in hand and a big decision to make... _'Hope I see you later...'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The origin of guys' night yay :'D 
> 
> Hope I see you guys for the grande finale coming soon! ;333 Peachy, I hope you're not too sick of waiting; sorry, my dear^^;;<3333


	8. Good Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armin makes his decision...

The previously freezing and soaking wet 12 year olds were now warm, dry, and cozy on the Yeagers’ living room couch, laughing harmoniously at the movie on TV. 

Dr. Yeager passed by into the kitchen and smiled to himself finding his happy son and his best friend having such fun, even on a rainy night like this. It was a most charming sight to see, Carla agreed. Glad to know his son had someone so important to him, who loved Eren right back, he took himself to the basement to work so as not to spoil their evening.

The _Men in Black_ films never got old or any less funny to the pair. It made the perfect medicine for such a gloomy evening, along with the plate of hot and tasty pizza rolls Carla brought out to them when it was time to watch the sequel. Smiling for her happy son, she took herself back into the kitchen to wash the dishes, wondering just where Eren and his darling blond buddy might be heading when they grew up... 

Snuggled up with each other under the warm tasseled green plush blanket on Eren’s cushy couch, the boys had unspokenly decided to do this again and again every week as much needed relief from living in the harsh and cruel modern American world they were trapped in.

The plate of pizza rolls on the tv tray became a plate of crumbs by the time _Men in Black II_  was half over... A line from Will Smith cracked the boys up and had Armin absolutely in _giggles_ , to the point that he fell right over onto his back with the green blanket entangled in his legs. A cackling Eren followed suit and laid on his side next to the wonderful boy he was privileged to call his best friend, gazing at his happy, laughy expression with delighted eyes and a bright grin... Armin’s starry eyes met Eren’s, accompanied by a happy, gracious smile for _his_ very best and dearest friend, and the pair became contentedly silent... Their gazes locked... 

In that moment, something came over young Eren that he couldn’t explain as his heart beat began to pound rapidly in his warm little chest while a familiar flutter took over his stomach... For whatever reason, his instincts made their call and he began to lean in... 

Armin remained still, as his blithe little cheeks turned a whole new rosy shade of red, and closed his eyes to receive whatever it was that was coming to him... 

With Armin’s alluring eyes closed, Eren’s mysterious and scary trance was broken and he wordlessly rose up from the couch, denial working it’s usual magic... 

Armin opened his eyes again, disappointed that nothing came of that fleeting moment...

“Do you want some more pizza rolls?” Eren asked as he stood by the tv tray, holding the plate and preparing to carry it into the kitchen.

Armin sighed and pursed his lips playfully with a genuine smile. “If it’s not too much trouble, sure!”

Eren resumed his grin, awkwardly, and carried the plate off.

Armin simpered as he watched the boy he loved head into the kitchen to fetch them some more rolls... _‘Someday he’ll come around.’_  he thought to himself.  _‘Someday...’_

Armin approached every Friday night with Eren like this. With _hope_... The one thing he ever dared to put his hopes in...

* * *

Armin nervously made his long tread to Eren's house, each step filling him with more anxiety as he clutched the blossom in his hands... Eren told him he loved him... Eren asked him on a date... Eren... returned Armin's affections at last... But was it really true? Or was it too good to be true?... After all, this "date" was essentially going to be their usual intimate guys' night, even if they might spend it in town instead of Eren's house. And Eren said "I love you" to him many times in the past, " _bromantically_ "... Armin sure was sick of that word... Plus Eren could just be confused by his own feelings since Armin had been putting him off... What was to make this night anything more than just the usual disappointed heartbreak? Armin sighed. Eren was probably going to make him watch _22 Jump Street_ again and just "bro out" with him afterwards over video games or something like always... And Armin would fall asleep next to him on the living room floor in the big sleepover-comforter they always used, longing and dreaming for anything, anything at all, that would signal Eren felt the same feelings for Armin that Armin felt for him...

\--

Armin stopped walking. Paused on the sidewalk right in front of Eren’s lawn, his toes a mere inch from the grass. He looked up at Eren's house just ahead of him across the big front yard and adjusted his glasses. It was so familiar to him. A house he practically considered his own home growing up for how often he came there to spend time with Eren... And the minute he walked through that door everything could change, or everything could stay the same. He could remain the lovelorn shoulder to cry on for his brotherly best buddy, or he could be his best friend's beloved sweetheart, facing everything together with him, hand in hand, always. It could be true happiness or just more aching... It was a scary decision. Like opening a mystery box that would either contain the best thing that ever happened to him or the biggest heart break he could imagine… What reason did he have not to believe in the latter? Sure, he had a guilty Pocky bouquet, a buddy's friendship bracelet, a bromantic sing along, and a pretty apple blossom… but what reason did _EREN_ ever give Armin to believe he could possibly love him? He looked down at the friendship bracelet Eren gave him hidden under his sleeve. The way Eren had clearly missed a few knots and loops while making it charmed him so. He could so easily picture him sitting at his desk, frustrated, swearing, and sweating as he struggled impatiently to make this for him, ever dedicated and determined to finish it just to make Armin happy... It was likely the very same with the bouquet and the song. A hard, diligent labor of "love"... He was always so sweet like that... always...

A vision of Eren giving him that big bright powerful smile he always gave him played in his head. The smile that told him he could handle _anything_ and so could Armin. The smile and fierce eyes that made Armin feel like he could take on the world... And to relax because _everything was going to be fine_... It filled Armin's stomach with as many butterflies as it always did and sent his heart racing as usual. He clutched at his chest and stared at the front door just up ahead waiting for him... _Eren was in there waiting for him..._ With a deep breath, and a brave stance, Armin ripped off his pesky warped glasses and tossed them carelessly aside into the grass. He decided that _Eren_ was _worth the chance_ , and took that scary step forward...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHO'S READY FOR THE BIG DATE?!!! I'M READY!!!! I'M SO READY >:3333333333 
> 
> SEE YOU NEXT CHAPTER I HOPE!!!!<33333
> 
> (Listen to _["Yuri on ICE"](http://hillvalleycat.tumblr.com/post/153290553010/nedoch-yuuris-free-skate-program-music)_ if you'd like some score for Armin's big decision scene~ lolol)


	9. Date Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren treats Armin to a date. 
> 
> (This is a long chapter, hope it was worth the wait ;3)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I hope you read ["Modern American Bromance"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8797711) cuz it's about to pay off in this chapter~

Eren sat on the couch in his best jeans, black shirt, white collared overshirt, and his new friendship bracelet... He'd been hunched over on the armrest since 3, nervously awaiting Armin's arrival... or lack thereof... His mind was aswirl in an endless circle of the same thoughts for what could be the first night of the rest of their lives together, or the last... All the while swearing himself out in the process for whatever he did to cause a rift in their friendship in the first place...

 _'Maybe I've been selfish?... I guess I do get way too comfortable with him sometimes... I probably talk with my mouth full, and I do swear a lot... and make him watch explicit movies with me... and get into unnecessary fights... and I depend on him for everything... and I suck at even picking up my own goddamn family's language... Maybe that's why he suddenly got sick of me... Fuck me... Now he'll never see me as boyfriend material...'_ He sighed. _'Not that I blame him... I wouldn't date me either... I'd have even dumped my ass as a friend a long time ago... He's probably just done with me... And he even started wearing those stupid glasses that I hate again... I hope he's not getting into any fights this week...'_

Eren closed his eyes as ugly memories came flooding back to him... When he and Armin had turned about 12 or so, Armin's bully problem was beginning to worsen. Armin was a proud heretic for his romantic dream of seeing the world, which most people deemed "woefully un-American", insisting he was on a path of self-destruction by dreaming such nonsense... And under the circumstances, Eren began to worry they might be right... So for the sake of Armin's future, and his overly abused body, Eren didn't bring up that dream anymore. And after suffering a concussion from one thrashing that supposedly "blurred his vision", Armin didn't bring it up anymore either, and started wearing glasses afterwards. Eren felt so awful letting his best friend down like that when he knew he needed a believer more than anything, but it was surely for the best... He did recognize that Armin's vision was fine, however, (as did his father), but convincing Armin that it was all in his head never worked until Eren finally put their dream back on the table and renewed his promise. The past month of Armin's gorgeous open eyes finally on full display for him again while they dreamed on put Eren in the highest of spirits. Then that cursed cryptic lunch period happened and suddenly Eren might as well have been _Marco_ talking to Armin all week... And those damn psychosomatic glasses returned, which, to Eren, pretty much meant that the dream they shared was over, just like that... No more hopes of sailing the open ocean by Armin's side, no more daydreaming of climbing the mountains hand in hand with Armin, no more waiting for the day he could watch the northern lights with Armin's head on his shoulder... no more secret unthought notions of waking up by the sea in Japan with Armin snuggled up in his arms and kissing him good morning...

"I am such an idiot... I am such. A fucking. _Idiot_... A stupid, lovesick, below-average, asshole, **_idiot_**..." He lamented as he buried his face in his arm, aching and suffering while he waited...  

Finally, the doorbell rang.

Eren's head shot up immediately. With the life temporarily sent back inside his body at the sound of that glorious doorbell, he jumped off of the couch and began running towards the front door, tripping flat onto the floor in his haste but instantly resuming the desperate race to answer it. With eyes wide open and his heart thudding furiously inside his chest, he quickly opened the door.

Armin was indeed standing there, looking as beautiful and curious as he always looked...

"You came..."

"Hi, Eren--"

In less than a second Eren threw his arms around his surprised, frozen companion, before pulling away just as quickly, realizing he was overexcited.

"E--"

Breathy and bewildered, Eren swiftly reached for something on the writing desk by the door: a small bouquet of apple blossoms. "T-this is for you..."

Armin blushed, a little bewildered himself, and still very scared, but gave a flattered and humble smile to his date as he accepted the flowers. "...It's lovely. Thank you."

Eren gulped, trying not to let his throat go dry as he stared at his beloved. Armin was wearing the same quirky outfit from that morning, which consisted of his grey '勇気' shirt with his blue long sleeved undershirt and dark grey cargo pants... He was nerdy to the core but to Eren: _god, he was **perfect**..._ "...Ah! Uh-- Come in, come in, please..." He finally implored, blushing as he gestured for the handsome little geek to come into the familiar hall.

As always, it didn't take Armin long to find himself in good humor when Eren was around... He gave a sweet smile to his friend as he came inside, closing the door behind him. "Didn't you have a test today?"

"Oh, yeah, I skipped it..."

"Ohh..."

Eren quickly changed the subject, hoping Armin wouldn't judge him for his grades which were certainly going in the trash for all the school he missed that week on account of his Armin-fever. "I had to come home and prepare... Anyway, uh... Right-- right this way!" He gestured, awkwardly wanting to put his arm around his date to lead him to the living room but settling just for a gentle hand on his lower back... "Oh, and uhh, by the way, to spare you from the overbearing 'Carla Parade', I haven't told my mom this is a date..."

"Hm..." Armin held the bouquet shyly to his stomach, keeping his hands and arms in close to himself in a timid and inadvertently cute manner as Eren lead him into their typical guys' night hang out area. The white noise-esque sound of Carla cooking in the kitchen in just the next room filled the air, along with the appetizing smell of whatever it was she was making. Armin placed the bouquet on the end table and took his usual seat on the cushy couch by the tv tray. "So, what's the plan for tonight?"

"Well, first... I... thought we could watch a movie here while we eat dinner together. Then we'll have dessert..."

"So... just like our usual guys' nights?"

"Well... Kind of... but this time you're not here as my best bro... You're here as my date..."

Armin gave him an unsure smile. "I see... Is that all?"

"A-after the movie, I have a couple somethings in mind... Then... Well, when that's all over, I guess the rest of the evening is up to you..."

"...Alright. I'll just keep an eye on the clock for curfew then. As you know, I can't be out on the streets too late."

"Right..." Eren blushed... really, _really_ , hoping Armin might spend the night. He cleared his throat and continued, nervous as could be and just praying he could avoid visibly and odorously sweating for the evening. "Anyway, I'll uh, set the movie up."

"What are we watching?" Armin asked, placing his hands in his lap in the dainty manner he usually did. " _Frozen_? _Star Wars_?", the typical Eren-favorites.

"Nope." Eren grinned with a quick glance at him while setting up the blu-ray player. "We're watching... _Castle in the Sky_." he beamed as he turned around, his hand gesturing to the tv playing the familiar Studio Ghibli intro to the subbed version of what he deemed the perfect Yeager/Arlert date night movie.

Armin perked up. That was one of his absolute favorites. Maybe this would turn out to be a genuine date after all...

Eren took a seat next to Armin, self consciously trying not to sit too close but also trying not to sit too far away... He sat as awkwardly as he was feeling, unsure what to do with his legs in front of a date, especially when that date was the amazing and genteel Armin Arlert, and so settled for keeping them closed and stretching his feet out under the tv tray, crossing his ankles, along with his arms...

Armin glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, definitely picking up on his awkward nervousness in his body language. He tried not to dwell on it but couldn't help smiling to himself in amusement...

Eren tapped his index finger silently against his arm, anxiously waiting for the food to come out, hoping that would make the moment just a little less awkward.

Armin slouched a little, pouting slightly from missing the old habit of cuddling up to Eren, which he was actively trying to avoid. He tried to press himself comfortably into the back of the couch, but would've definitely preferred to be close to Eren again so he could watch his reactions to the film. Eren was so emotional. It always intrigued Armin so to watch him react to movies, and it was important to him to be able to dry his tears and make the boy he loved feel better when there was a particularly sad scene... He clutched at his stomach, the butterflies too aroused to be ignored...

"Dinner's on boys!" Carla announced as she flawlessly strolled into the room with two trays of food with a happy smile. "Nice to see you again, Armin!"

"Nice to see you again too, Mrs. Yeager!"

"Haha, aw, I told you you can just call me Carla. Anyway, here you are! For a very special guys' night treat, per Eren's request: Sushi and katsudon á la Carla!" She sang, placing a wooden slab of cooked "sushi" onto the tv tray along with 2 wooden bowls of Ramen noodles with pork, a bowl of heated sweet and sour sauce, and 2 glasses of iced tea.

Eren blushed to himself with embarrassment... This all seemed like a much more thoughtful and intimate plan in his head but it really did look like a typical bro-tacular guys' night after all, with an extra cheap dinner to boot... But Armin's smile certainly seemed genuine.

"Oh, how wonderful!" Armin beamed. "Arigato gozaimasu, Carla san!"

"I don't know what that means, but bon appétite!" She laughed, ruffling Armin's hair. She then pulled out 2 sets of chopsticks and handed them to the pair with grace before taking her leave back into the kitchen to prepare her husband's dinner.

Eren gulped at the sight of the chopsticks and felt a little betrayed, having expected a fork since he could never figure out how to use chopsticks... He turned to face Armin. "Sh-she refused to serve kids raw food so the sushi is just cold cooked fish. And I'm sure there's more to real katsudon than whatever this is, er... Sorry..."

"No it's okay! This is so sweet of you guys anyhow!" Armin grinned, and happily helped himself to the "nigiri" with cold shrimp on it with an elegant pinch of his chopsticks...

Eren's heart raced anxiously as he removed his chopsticks from their paper pouch. He tried to hastily read the instructions on the pouch and study the how-to illustration but just couldn't make sense of it. So, just hoping for a miracle, he simply tried his best to use them blindly... Hands visibly trembling, he attempted to grasp the Carla-version of a California roll, struggling endlessly to pick it up.

Armin got lost in his bowl of ramen, greatly enjoying the brothy bite of pork-and-noodle he'd just taken. "Mm, your mother makes a mean bowl of ramen! I'll have to ask her for this recipe-" He looked over and paused at the sight of his date clearly feeling embarrassed as he continuously strained to grasp the roll.

Eren's hand finally slipped and the roll when rolling right off the tv tray and onto the floor. "Shit. _Mmh--_ " He bit his lip for accidentally swearing in front of Armin...

Armin put his own chopsticks down in his bowl, replacing it on the tray, and busied his hands helping Eren's to learn how to use his. "-Don't worry. It's tricky, I know, but it's not as complicated as it seems..."

Eren blushed brighter than the bowl of sweet and sour sauce at Armin's soft and gentle hands maneuvering his own... Armin's hands on his was something he'd taken for granted before, but now...

"Here, see, this stick actually doesn't move. It stays just like this, cuz it's just support. This is the stick you actually move to pick up the food." He explained, adjusting Eren's fingers and thumb to the right position. "There you go."

Armin's warmth and gentle voice had a real magic over Eren... Armin never condescended to him or made him feel stupid, even though Eren certainly believed he was in comparison to a brilliant guy like him... and Armin never had an ounce of pity or pride in his voice. He only ever spoke with love and understanding to him. Even his blunt honesty was welcome because it clearly always came from a place of love... To Eren, Armin illustrated everything the rest of the world lacked... He was one of a kind. Nothing less than most wonderful person in the world. With a new gentle smile, Eren let out a quick sigh to relax and attempted once again to pick up a sushi roll. This time, he was successful. "Thank you..."

Eren's half lidded eyes and dear voice set the butterflies in Armin's stomach off. "...But 2 of my Asian-American friends also told me they actually just use their hands since chopsticks can be a hassle. S-so that's okay too." He added with a playful whisper and a chuckle before picking up a roll with his fingers. _"Itadakimasu!"_ Eren's sparkling grin returned and sent Armin's heart soaring...

_"Itadakimasu..."_

and his flawless pronunciation which he'd clearly been practicing sent him over the moon.

-

The pair finished their dinner while watching the familiar movie which Armin couldn't help quoting in it's original language while it played.

"You finished?" Eren asked politely, holding his hand out to take his dinner bowl.

"Mhm." Armin nodded, handing it to him. "Thank you!"

"Sure! I'll be right back."

Armin watched as Eren went into the kitchen, wondering if he was up to anything, but turned his gaze back to the movie to wait patiently. Thus far, this evening was really nice... And Eren couldn't possibly be any sweeter. It must've been the way Eren was looking at him, because it really was, somehow, beginning to feel like a real date indeed... And even if it weren't, Eren sure knew how to make his buddy feel cared for. And he was definitely trying his best to make this a pleasant date for him. Armin sighed happily to himself. Traveling the world with Eren as his lover was his ultimate dream, but he could honestly spend every night with him like this and still be happy...

In a few moments, Eren came back with a grand smile and 2 bowls. He slid Armin's bowl to him on the tv tray and spoke softly. "One Arlert special. All yours."

Armin's lips parted as he was so moved by the dessert... The usual bowl of ice cream he used to get at the Shiganshina Ice Cream Parlor before Eren's run in with Jean got them banned. A generous helping of vanilla, a scoop of matcha, a light drizzle of caramel, 2 strawberries dipped in chocolate, and a smothering drizzle of chocolate overall... plus 2 sticks of dessert Pocky he'd had left over from making the bouquet last weekend.

"The store was out of dark chocolate, so I'm afraid the strawberries are only dipped in milk chocolate. I hope that's okay..."

Armin looked up from his bowl into Eren's adoring grey eyes. "This is perfect, Eren... Thank you..."

Eren inhaled and his grand smile became even grander... At last, Armin's eyes were sparkling for him like they used to... As gorgeous and dazzling as ever. Eren returned to his seat beside Armin, pleased as could be that Armin was enjoying his dessert so much... For the first time all week, he really felt like he could eat again and happily poked a spoonful of his chocolate ice cream into his mouth...

By the time they'd finished dessert, the movie was nearly 3 quarters over.

Armin sat peacefully, just enjoying the film next to his best friend/date, while Eren toyed with the notion of wrapping his arm around Armin...

Eren's fidgeting fingers lightly tapped his crossed arms while he wrestled with himself over the idea and fearfully worked up the courage to attempt his move... He casually stretched his arm out over the back of the couch behind Armin, with a bright blush in his cheeks. Once he'd finally done that, with his heart pounding thunderously in his chest, he anxiously tried to bring himself to rest that arm around him... He wanted to so badly. However, he couldn't find the courage to, and a tremble found it's way into his lonely hand while a shortness of breath took over his lungs.

Armin sensed something was up and glanced at Eren, who was forcing himself to look only at the tv and nothing else, while his trembling arm hovered around him, blushing wildly all the while... Realizing what was going on, Armin smiled to himself in flattery and softly let himself fall against Eren's shoulder...

Eren's eyes widened in surprise at the sensation of the man of his dreams resting against him... He managed to swallow the lump in his throat, hoping with all of his brainpower that he wasn't smelly or sweaty, and finally brought that longing arm around Armin where it belonged...

Deciding to finally let himself indulge in the fancy... Armin brought his arm across Eren's stomach to rest it around his waist in return.

Eren swallowed hard again, his mouth going dry and his heart surely beating visibly in his chest... but the feeling of Armin's soft golden hair against his cheek while he rested there with him made him finally relax... This was right. This was fate. Resting there in each other's arms was right where they belonged... where they were always meant to be. This was _home_...

* * *

 

Soon enough, the movie was over, and while Eren didn't ever wanna break apart from his cuddle with Armin on the couch, he exhaled because it was time for the next part of the evening. "Okay... you ready for part 2?"

Armin rose up from Eren's warm shoulder and smiled for him with genuine enthusiasm. "Mmhm. What's next?"

Eren stood up and took Armin by the hand in a gentlemanly manner to help him up as well. "We go to the kitchen."

Armin raised a happy eyebrow as he tried to guess at what was in store.

Eren released his date's hand and walked him to the kitchen, alerting his mother. "Okay, mom, we're ready!"

"Ah!" Carla, who'd just finished doing the dishes, grabbed the ziplock-bags of ingredients she'd set aside along with a piece of paper and approached the boys. "Eren thought you would enjoy an evening making authentic German pretzels, using our old Yeager-family recipe!" she grinned.

"Mm." Eren nodded.

 _"Oh, wunderbar!"_ Armin cried excitedly.

Eren chuckled nervously... "W-what does that mean, again?"

Armin gave Eren a most charmed smile. "It means _'wonderful'_."

"Ah." Eren was relieved to hear that since he'd been insecure about this idea despite knowing Armin would surely adore it.

"Haha, well I've already set the beer, alcohol-free, on the stove and tossed in the yeast. I'll get the brick oven going outside while you two work on the dough." The delighted Carla informed them. She began to hand over the bag of ingredients and recipe to Eren but thought for a second and decided to hand them over to Armin instead, not fully trusting Eren to be in charge of any kitchen projects... She then took herself outside to start up the brick oven in her barbecue pit, (which no one in the house was allowed to manage but herself), leaving the boys to work alone in the kitchen.

Armin happily and shyly carried the ingredients over to the countertop as he read over the recipe while Eren followed behind, trying to think carefully on what to say...

"Would you like some music to work to?" Eren finally suggested. "I already set up the bluetooth speaker, so we could have some. Uh, here, my phone's already linked up to it. You can pick whatever music you want." he offered, handing Armin his iPhone with a rosy tint in his cheeks. "O-or you can link yours up if you want, it's up to you..."

Armin cradled the phone in his hand. Nobody was ever allowed to touch Eren's phone except for Armin and that made him excited all over again since this was a date... He gave Eren a smile and unlocked the phone to open his music app. His thumb swiped up and down through Eren's playlists; _"Queen", "Get Pumped", "On-the-go", "Frozen", "Sgt. Pepper", "Zelda", "Rage", "Hurt", "Party",_ etc.... And chose the one he felt was most appropriate: _"Armin <3"._ He smirked and handed Eren back his phone before turning around to break out the pretzel ingredients.

Eren blushed as _"I Really Like You"_ started to play throughout the kitchen... and dreaded to hear his singing once the playlist got to _"Armin's Dream"_. He gulped and followed Armin's lead over to the counter by the big mixing bowl. "I've never made these before, so... What do we do first?"

Armin handed Eren a big measuring cup full of flour. "Put this in the bowl. And then add 2 table spoons of this." He said politely, pointing to the bag of baking soda Carla had set aside for them. He then moved around Eren to the stove to heat the beer and yeast to a boil.

Eren completed his task and waited for Armin's orders while the song played on behind him... Though the song was about a crush as opposed to being in love, the lyrics genuinely spoke to Eren about his feelings for Armin... He fell into a trance staring at his date while he manned the stove, as the bluetooth speaker sang the second verse of the song...

_'...it's like everything you say is a sweet revelation, all I wanna do is get into your head... Yeah, we could stay alone you and me and this temptation, sippin' on your lips hangin' on by a thread...'_

The difference between this trance and the others he'd always gotten when staring at Armin for too long... was that this time, Eren let himself fall into it...

Armin caught Eren staring and turned to meet his gaze with his own sweet one. He gave him a gentle smile, inciting another blush from his grey eyed date.

Eren felt like a bolt of lightning surged through him from Armin's luminous eyes... not a shocking one, but loving one. And rather than be afraid like he was before... Eren grinned.

Armin grinned back, sending a welcome feeling into Eren's heart.

Suddenly, just as he'd hoped to be with Armin on this guys' night turned date night, Eren became quite comfortable... He was in love with his _best friend_ , and whatever Armin felt in return was beginning to bring him hope... Eren's once-hidden feelings washed over him like a wave, and his instincts began to break out of their rusted old cage of denial... He began to lean in...

Armin remained still, his smile never wavering, as Eren moved into his space.

With Armin's content expression unchanging, Eren found himself just a few inches from the blond's angelic face... when suddenly, his cheek was smeared with flour. He laughed for the surprise, his blush increasing slightly while Armin laughed with him. Eren's mischievous smirk appeared and he dipped his finger in the flour to smear it on Armin's nose as payback.

Armin's laughter grew louder as he wriggled his ticklish nose. Seeing as Eren had another pinch of flour in his fingers, he happily squealed and tried to dodge out of the way, only to find himself quickly snatched into Eren's playful arms.

Both boys had begun laughing more than either of them had all week...

Eren's throaty laughter rang like music in Armin's ear while Eren began lightly pinching Armin's sides and tickling and poking his stomach like he did now and then when they were kids, which felt so wonderful to them...

Armin's beautiful laughter was the purest sound in the world to Eren... he'd missed it so much that week. Even if this date didn't work out, unbearable heartache aside, it felt good to be friends again... His arms relaxed, as did Armin's laughter and he pulled Armin into a hug. To his gratitude, Armin hugged him back.

"Okay, okay..." Armin beamed with another chuckle. "Let's get back to these pretzels..."

"Mmhm."

-

The boys had a grand time working together, mixing the dough, kneading it, rolling it, twisting it, dipping it, and salting it to the songs on the _"Armin <3"_ playlist. Eren had a rough time twisting his dough into the proper shape, but with help from Armin, managed to get it right eventually... Soon enough Carla came back into the house to check on their progress, turning down the bluetooth speaker before it got to _"Armin's Dream"_ much to Eren's relief.

"Okay, the oven is ready, it just needs to warm up. Head outside and wait it out while you wait for the pretzel dough to rise."

The boys nodded and Eren carried the papertowel-covered tray of pretzels out the door with his eager date beside him. They stepped out onto the stone porch and shyly avoided eye contact as they slowly walked down the stairs and along the sidewalk...

Armin glanced all around, chuckling at the apple blossoms all over the ground from Eren obviously yanking various flowers and branches out of it for him. He smiled at the various flowers in bloom all around the sidewalk as well. "Your mother's planted some lovely ones for this season."

Eren, who'd been keeping his eye on the barbecue pit as he walked, nervously turned to look at Armin. "Oh, uh... Yeah, I guess she has. I mean, I'm not much for flowers, but you know, they're... yeah."

Armin laughed. "Yeah."

Once they reached the pit, Eren checked the oven temperature and set the pretzels aside on the granite stone countertop to rise.

Armin took a seat at the little granite stone table and leaned back to observe the atmosphere... It was a pretty romantic setting with the evening settling in, the fireflies coming out, a few stars in the sky with the moon visible against a rosy pink and violet sky, and the pretty evening lights coming on in the flower arch and along the sidewalk, all set to the quiet sound of Carla's water fountain in the koi pond.

Eren took a deep breath before finally turning around to face his date. He was starting to feel a little scared again in this hyper-romantic setting, which he knew would put that terrifying wistful look in Armin's gorgeous, dreamy eyes... And he'd have to finally face that scary question he was always terrified of: _'Can I live up to the dream he deserves?'_... He took his seat across from Armin and their eyes met. It was tempting to look away, to turn his gaze to anything else besides Armin's terrifying eyes... but Armin was worth the chance. So Eren kept his eyes on Armin's.

Seeing as Eren, for pretty much the first time, wasn't going to be much of a conversationalist with him tonight, Armin finally broke the ice. He rested his elbows on the table to get comfortable and smiled at Eren. "You know, Marco thought it would be nice to go to a convention together."

Eren twitched. _'Don't tell me you're falling for **Marco**... You can do so much better, Armin...'_ "Ah, just the two of you?"

"Oh, lord, no. I can only take Marco in small doses. He's a complete bore to talk to when our shows go on hiatus. He meant as a group thing. Me, him, Mikasa, and you, if you'd like."

Eren let out a sigh of relief. "That sounds great then, I'd love to."

"Really? Awesome, I love it when you come." He beamed.

Eren gave a nervous smile in return. "But I would... like it better if it were just you and me..."

Armin's lips parted... Eren was really starting to convince him that he meant it when he confessed his love that morning... "I--... I'd love that too... Maybe... Marco and Mikasa don't have to go at all." he smiled.

"Yes, I'd prefer that, very much."

Armin blushed... "Would you... Never mind."

"Hmm? What?"

"Well, it's--... you wouldn't be interested, never mind..."

Eren finally reached out and took Armin's right hand in his left. "Please tell me..."

Armin blushed even more. "Would you be interested in cosplaying with me?" He finally asked, looking bravely into Eren's eyes.

Eren raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. I would."

"Really?!"

"Yes! Who did you have in mind?" Eren asked with a chuckle.

Armin's eyes sparkled... "I-- don't know, I guess it depends..."

"On what?"

"..." Armin only simpered.

Eren squeezed his hand and gave him a hopeful smile in return. "Well... Let me know when you think of something."

"...--Okay." The pair's gazes locked for a moment before Armin finally shook off the trance to speak again. "I've been thinking about you a lot this week..."

"Yeah?" Eren was a little excited by that.

"Yeah... About us, and where we're going, and what our future holds... and... I really missed you."

"I've missed you too!"

"And I... I'm so sorry I haven't been talking to you... I can't tell you why yet, but... I swear you didn't do anything wrong. I just needed to think..."

"It's okay... I'm just sorry you were upset. And that I couldn't help..."

"...Oh, you... you helped me so much... Thank you. For everything this week. All of it meant so much to me, I... Thank you, Eren... You're one of a kind..."

"...No problem..." The deeply flattered Eren replied.

Armin smiled down at the table and then at their hands. Eren's was still holding his... It was a little sweatier than usual because Eren was nervous, which he found rather charming. His eyes then fell on their Yin and Yang charms dangling from their bracelets... and he felt that familiar flutter in his stomach again. His eyes looked back into Eren's...  and he let go of Eren's hand, timidly placing his hands in his lap. "You've missed a lot of school this week. Jean really made a fool of himself with Mikasa yesterday." He chuckled.

"Haha, tell me!"

"Well, he went up to her from behind, with WAY too much mousse in his hair, and he had a box of chocolates in his hand and a wannabe's smirk on his face. And you could tell he was trying so hard to be cool so when he purred into her ear and said _'Hey, baby...'_ He thought it'd be met with a swoon... But instead she immediately drop kicked him into the ground, thinking he was a pervert!"

"HA! That'll teach him!" Eren cackled.

"He got sent to the nurse's office and I saw him go home crying because he was so embarrassed, and he mumbled to his mom _'and my hair was ruined...'_ on his way out the door."

Eren howled with laughter and snorted before clearing his throat to regain his composure. "Ahem... That's pretty funny..."

Armin snickered. "I try not to find humor in other people's misfortunes... but he did have it coming... I hope it doesn't make me a bad person for laughing at that..."

Eren smirked. "Are you saying I'm a bad person, then?"

"No, no!" Armin blushed, trying to catch himself, truly not meaning it as a judgement towards Eren. "Quite the contrary, you're rather a hero, in my opinion..."

Eren's smirk faded into an emotional smile. "I was just kidding... You really think I'm a hero?"

"Y-yeah. Of course I think that."

"Why?"

"Because you're a symbol for good. A fighter for justice. And I believe in you."

Eren could've cried right there... In fact, he was really forcing himself not to... "Thank you... And Armin?"

Armin looked right into Eren's eyes to listen attentively.

"Your bullies don't show you any mercy. The fact that you even forgive them or want to show them mercy by not laughing... That's truly righteous of you. I deeply admire it... And when you do laugh at their misfortune, you shouldn't feel bad anyway. People who abuse you deserve to be punished. You deserve that justice... especially when you strive so hard to rise above them... You rise above this shitty world... You're a hero _to me_ for that."

 _Armin_  could've cried right there. "Eren... I--"

The sound of Eren's back door slid open and Carla placed the bluetooth speaker on the porch after remembering she'd turned it down. She turned the volume up, and since Eren forgot to pause his playlist, _"Armin's Dream"_ started playing...

_'...Hey, love, close your eyes and tell me if, our little world were only in my backyard...'_

Eren blushed and hid his face, getting back up to put the pretzels in the oven, never minding how long it'd take them to rise anymore.

Armin watched Eren with a look of adoration on his face... His heart was beating for Eren more than ever before.

Eren set the timer on his phone for the pretzels, turned around again, and took his seat back at the table, staring down at the granite stone...

Armin broke the ice yet again. "Eren? I really... REALLY loved this song..."

Eren refused to look at him.

Armin reached over to tilt his chin up to meet his gaze...

Eren finally looked into those eyes, an act of courage in his mind, and found sincerity in them... "I... meant every word in it..."

Armin beamed and rested back in his seat. "...I had a dream about you last night."

"Oh, yeah?..."

"Yeah... We lived inside these big walls, with giant monsters on the other side. And no one would let us outside. I kept saying the giants would break the walls down, but no one listened to me. Except you... Then those giants broke into the walls. I was nearly eaten by one. But you came to my rescue, just like you promised you would..." Tears appeared in his eyes at the thought...

"I definitely would. I _always_ will..." Eren vowed, reaching over to dry those tears.

"--You were eaten in my place..." Armin continued, interlacing his fingers with Eren's as they always did when one of them was crying, and smiled. "But then you came back! You came back to me and hugged me tight... It was a nightmare but somehow, some way, you found a way to come back to me."

"I-- I would do anything to get back to you..." He promised.

Armin sniffled and wiped his eyes. "I woke up after that and had a hard time going back to sleep but when I did, I had a really _happy_ dream about you. We went to Japan together. And then... we--"

"Come back inside boys!!!" Carla called. "I wanna wash down the countertops out here really quick before it gets too dark! Plus your ride'll be ready soon! I'll watch your pretzels for you." She promised.

"Ride?" Armin asked curiously.

"You'll see." Eren winked.

* * *

Eren escorted Armin back inside with his hand on the small of his back, and walked him back into the living room to the couch. "Alright, well, our ride isn't due for another hour or so, so... What do you wanna do? Play video games? Watch another movie?"

Armin _definitely_ didn't wanna play any video games tonight, lest this become a guys' night after all. "Can we watch another movie?"

"Sure! Which one? _Howl_? _Spirited Away_?"

"Hmm... _Ponyo_?"

"Oh, I don't have that one handy..."

"I have it on my phone, if you don't mind squeezing in with me." He smiled shyly.

Eren blushed. "O-okay." He affirmed with a crack in his voice. He took his seat on the couch as Armin pulled up the video from his library. A little braver than before, but still rather nervous, he sat up against him, their heads leaning together to see the little screen in Armin's palm... The essence of Armin's hair and the warmth from his body quickly captured him. His nose gently nuzzled the golden hair he'd adored for years, and unbeknownst to him, his gentle warm breath had been hitting Armin's cheeks...

Armin smiled to himself, blushing all the while. This night _definitely_ felt different... They were as close as usual but it meant so much more to Eren now and he could sense that very clearly...

10 minutes later, Carla brought them their pretzels, all buttered and golden and smelling like a dream. She then took herself upstairs to catch up on her Netflix shows in her bedroom theater for the night, leaving the boys all alone in the living room...

Eren had broken away from his nuzzles to avoid giving away their secret date until she left, and he and Armin picked up their pretzels, tapping them together in a playful toast. They replaced them on the tv tray between delicious buttery and salty bites over the next 10 minutes, at one point wondering if they'd gotten each other's pretzels mixed up... but they didn't stop to worry about it.

Soon enough, once Eren seemed to be finished eating, Amin was really hit with the temptation to hold his hand... and was considering whether or not it would be right to try kissing him... He turned his head up to see Eren's eyes, his cheek brushing against his, and met his gaze...

Eren sat frozen stiff, wondering what the hell he should do here... He wanted to just lean in and kiss him... but if that wasn't what Armin was signaling then he'd really make a fool of himself and ruin the whole evening... So he sat still, just gazing into those shimmering eyes, waiting for an answer... Armin looked like he wanted to speak, and slowly parted his glossy buttery lips while Eren listened intently...

 **"Alright let's go, bro!"** Zeke's undesired voice called, breaking the silence and cutting the moment short with his loud opening and slamming of the basement door.

Armin gave a solemn smile as he paused the video.

Eren turned sharply in annoyance. "We're kind of in the middle of something, here! You said you wouldn't be ready for another 40 minutes!"

"Well my Naked Juice supply ran out so I'm leaving now. You want the ride or not?"

Eren sighed in defeat. "Sorry, Armin, do you mind?"

"Not at all! Let's go." He grinned.

"You heard him, Eren, hop to it. Someday if you ever get your driver's license, you can haul your dates around on your own time." Zeke shooed playfully.

Eren grumbled, but politely lead Armin out the door and into Zeke's Prius...

Armin only grinned to himself, wondering what could be next and where they were heading...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, the Yeager's are not rich, Grisha just likes to spoil Carla lmao. Just saying since I accidentally made it sound like they were kinda loaded haha they're just somewhere between upper middle class and lower upper class. And Zeke's got his own income from his professor job which is why his basement his loaded with fancy stuff even though he's freeloading lol.
> 
> Carla named her sushi roll a "Carla-fornia Roll" btw haha. And one time, Zeke tried to mess with her barbecue pit to grill his messy cheesy mushroom kabobs and she totally lost her shit, it scared Eren half to death lmaooo.


	10. Ocean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 3 of this date challenges Eren on the path to becoming Armin's lover...

At age 8 or 9, Eren and Armin were at rest in the back of Eren's backyard, hanging onto the stone fence while they gazed over to the other side...

"Do you ever wonder what's over there, Eren?" Armin asked wistfully as he stared at the little group of trees blocking his view of whatever was before them.

"It's nothing. But actually, my mom says if you close your eyes and listen, you can hear the ocean from here."

"Really?!" Armin gasped.

"Uh huh." Eren laughed, raising an eyebrow. "She says if you actually were to cut through here and walk this way for a while rather than drive the road, you'd eventually get to the ocean. It's not far from here..."

Armin blinked a few times with wonder. "Really?..."

"Yeah?" Eren smiled... He then fell totally silent seeing Armin close his eyes and attempt to listen with a warm smile on his face... The breeze blew through those wisps of blond hair while the warm sunlight shone through it, making him look like an angel of some kind, Eren thought... His cheeks felt strangely warm and he shook his head to get his mind straight while Armin's glassy eyes slowly opened again.

"I've always wanted to see the ocean..." he sighed.

"You've never seen it?..."

"No. My parents keep saying they'll take me, and they don't wanna miss taking me, but they never do. I asked my grandpa but he's always so tired... and he forgets things so easily... So I've never gotten the chance."

Eren's expression became very sad... and his hand rested over Armin's arm. "So you've never been to the ocean? Even when it's just right there?"

"Mm mm..." Armin nodded. "I read about it though. It's very salty, and it's always moving... and it's rich with creatures and plants you can only find in the ocean. And the moon makes it move and roll waves over the sand... and it connects the world... lets us all travel to every corner of the globe... It's such a wonder..."

...Eren's knitted eyebrows furrowed and he took Armin's hand in his. "Then let's go see the ocean!"

"Hm?! Right now?!"

"Yes!!!"

"But Eren-- we would get into so much trouble if we went over the walls! Your mother would kill us! And she'd know we went there because we'd smell like saltwater!"

"But I wanna get you over there as soon as possible! If we told my mom, she'd have to call your grandpa, and he'd have to call your mom, and they're probably in some meeting that'll last for 3 hours, and your grandpa will forget to call them back, and yadda yadda yadda!" He grunted as he let go of Armin's hand and climbed on top of the wall. He looked down at the angelic boy before him, with his heart pounding in his chest and his outstretched hand waiting for his... "Look, Armin. Sometimes you just have to take a chance on what your gut tells you and apologize later!"

"Oh, Eren..." Armin simpered... and turned his gaze to the grass below. "I don't know..."

"Look at me, Armin. What's your gut tell you?"

Armin looked up at Eren to see 'the most handsome boy in the world' smiling down at him with courage and confidence... And responded in the only way he knew how: with a swoon, a smile of his own, and "It says take me away to the ocean, Eren! Please!"

Eren took Armin's hand in his, helping him onto the wall, and over it they went...

...

_Rushhh... Crashhh... Fwooshhh... and the chiming sounds of golden laughter were the only sounds one could hear if they'd happened upon this lonely side of the beach..._

Eren and Armin played there for well over an hour, chasing sand pipers, pocketing sea shells, tangling their feet in seaweed, building a sandcastle, jumping over waves... Armin liked standing still in the tide to test his ability not to let the waves knock him over, but more often than not they always managed to do so... right into Eren's arms. After being knocked onto his back for the tenth time, and having Armin washed into his arms again and again while the next wave would smack them in the face, Eren finally decided it was time to dry off (before Armin drowned). The pair stood happily on the beach together, dripping wet and cold in the ocean breeze but never minding it in the slightest. Armin looked out at the sunset over the endless horizon, with blushing cheeks and sparkling eyes...

Eren turned his gaze to Armin's, envying his wanderlust, thrilled by his spirit, and wondering how someone could possibly look so lovely...

Armin turned to find Eren looking at him, and gave him the warmest and most gracious smile he'd ever given anyone. "Thank you, Eren... Today was the greatest gift anyone's ever given me..."

Eren blushed and nervously sought his reply. "-You're welcome!" He grinned with his heart leaping into his throat.

Armin trembled slightly with excitement and simply threw his arms around his little friend in a tight, loving embrace.

All of Eren's thoughts stopped in their tracks as the surprise hug took him over... His eyes widened and his heart skipped a number of beats, wondering what the proper reaction was to something like this, which he'd never experienced before in his life... But obeying his instincts and desires... he hugged Armin back, tightly and snuggly. It was weird. Not that Eren had ever hugged that many people in his life anyway, but this hug specifically made so little sense to him... It was warm, but not just physically... it was sweet, but not like his mother's hugs... it was tight but not like the headlocks the rascally youth liked to put him in when he went looking for fights to spar in... Eren brushed his arms and hands over Armin's back, cupping his shoulders, shoulder blades, neck... He ran his fingers through the wet, fishy scented tangles of Armin's saltwatered blond hair, feeling the warmth of their chests pressed against one another, noting the swampy heat in the air between their cheeks, and thinking... this was a feeling he wanted to remember for the rest of his life... He tightened his hug. ' _Why do I wanna hold him so close... and never let go? Why do my cheeks feel so hot? Why does he feel so warm? Why am I so nervous? Why do I wanna hold him closer? Can boys- do this?... Can... can boys kiss?... What am I saying? What is this?! I don't-- I can't-- We--... We..._ ' He glanced down as the tide came up around their feet and washed the sand from between their toes... Something about this was so strange, so confusing and so _scary_ , and yet... it felt so nice... so beautiful... so good... And without any further thoughts on the frightening matter, Eren simply concluded that this feeling must be what people mean when they say the word _"wonderful"_... He exhaled and rested his cheek on Armin's shoulder for another few seconds... before finally raising his head back up altogether, taking Armin's arms in his.

Armin followed suit and looked at Eren with a dreamy smile on his face, content to let his hands slide to rest in Eren's...

"Come on... We should get home and rinse off before mom realizes we've gone..."

The shimmery-eyed boy nodded and held himself with a cold shiver.

"Here..." Eren pulled Armin closed to him, keeping his arm around his waist for warmth, and keeping his hand over Armin's as he lead him along the dry sand from which they came.

Armin was chilled to the bone and yet here in Eren's arms... he'd never felt warmer... Funny... When he heard people talk about being in love, like his parents, or his grandparents, or even just characters on tv, they described a feeling just like this one... warm, safe, and incredibly happy...

...

They hosed themselves off in the yard, removing all evidence of sand and saltwater from their clothes and after a warm shower, spent the night in Eren's room looking at all their seashells under the blanket. Armin fell asleep on Eren's pillow with a smile on his face like he were feeling right at home... Eren smiled to himself with half lidded eyes at the sight, thinking Armin _should_  consider this his home, and fell asleep with his arms around his warm little friend...

* * *

Zeke's quiet electric Prius made for an even more awkward car ride than it already was with a snarky driver like him. Eren's confidence quickly slipped away with his brother's playful deriding of him, while Armin sat in the backseat beside him, trying to get a look at Eren's expression or smile at him for reassurance. But unfortunately, Eren nervously held his gaze out the window, or anywhere else besides Armin's face, really, wondering whether he should've kissed him on the couch... His busy fingers kept tapping the shirt fabric over his crossed arms anxiously, trying not to fidget too much in front of his date...

 _'It's just too soon... We were supposed to have had a more quiet evening after dinner before it was time for part 3... Is he having a good time? He's so quiet... I can't even look at him... Fuck, I'm not ready for this...'_ He thought, scolding himself for not giving Armin a better first date... "Zeke, why couldn't we have left when you said we would?"

"Well, I _could've_ had Arizona Tea in _lieu_ of my Naked Juice, but _somebody_  insisted on having iced tea for his big homemade sushi date, so now I have to run to the health food store to restock on _everything_. I kept telling him he should just order out for your date, Armin, but he said a homecooked meal would be best. I suppose that is pretty endearing after all. You're definitely getting the best of my little scamp of a brother." He laughed. "At least _you_  got to enjoy the rest of my imitation crab strips."

Eren cringed to himself...

Armin gave a quiet and uncomfortable chuckle as he tried to humor their driver, whom he knew was certainly making poor Eren feel inadequate. "It was pretty tasty... Sorry for eating it all, it was really good."

"Nah, it's okay! That's why I have a car and a driver's license. Hah, Eren, you wanna get on that?" He joked.

"I'm working on it!" Eren defended with a blush, trying not to let Zeke get to him in front of Armin tonight...

"Taking your time, aren't you? Oh, by the way, I heard your singing from the bluetooth speaker I lent you! Guess you managed to get that recording done after all. Armin, you should've heard the first drafts, he must've sang it a million times before he decided it was finally good enough."

Armin smiled while Eren's blush intensified beside him. "Really?"

"Yeah! It was pretty rough when he first woke up. I had to go outside just to tune him out. But what are brothers for if not to let you use their basement and music equipment for singing love ballads, right, Eren?"

"Mmmh..." Eren's teeth were gritting behind his hand, now covering his mouth, while his eyes shut tight over his red cheeks. He wished he could shrink in his seat or turn invisible right now, not at all noticing how moved Armin actually was... 

The blond watched Eren with loving eyes, finding him so dear, and empathized heavily with him for his brother's rude sense of humor.

"He knows you best though, so I trust that you're having a great time and liked all your gifts. I've never seen him work that hard for something before, and I've coached him in football! Haha. Eren's a lot of work, but worth the trouble he makes, right, bratishka?"

As cute and lovable as Zeke thought he was making him sound, Eren felt quite lousy from where he was sitting, made obvious by the pained frown on his face while he stared at the back of the front chair... His hands now gripped his crossed arms, trying to keep himself from writhing in his seat, while he wished for death or a way to erase memories... But suddenly, he felt a hand slip into his, interlacing their fingers. He looked down in surprise and _finally_  turned his gaze to Armin... to those big, pretty eyes looking at him over a gentle smile... And just as quickly as he'd lost his comfort, a new sense of relief came over him, along with a feeling that he was no longer alone. Nothing his brother said mattered nor did the eerie silence of this car ride seem so scary anymore. With Armin's dry, warm hand in his slightly damp, nervous ones, everything seemed okay again... _'Damn...'_ he thought. _'How do I hold onto this feeling forever?...'_

Soon enough, the car ride was over.

"Well, we're here. Okay, get out and go have fun until I bring the car back around." The bearded blond sang.

Eren quickly opened the door and climbed out before pulling Armin by the hand in a gentlemanly manner to help him out as well. He closed the car door behind them, somewhat hastily, more than ready to get out of Zeke's presence.

Armin immediately recognized the smell of the night air indicating where they were: the beach...

"I'll try not to rush, but Carla said I can't leave you out long after dark. So I'll _'brb'_ as you kids like to say." he winked, and shot up a friendly finger gun at the pair. "Stay out of trouble!"

Eren noticed Armin check at his phone for the time before glancing away with pursed lips. Now worried his date's enthusiasm might be at stake, he rushed his brother off. "Okay, fine fine fine, bye!"

 _"Auf wiedersehen!"_ Zeke waved before driving off, leaving the two boys alone on the curb in the quiet noise of the sea air...

Eren forced himself into a state of courage and turned to look at Armin, offering him a shy smile under a light blush.

Armin returned the favor and gave his dear grey eyed friend a nervous simper...

Eren tugged gently at the shorter boy's hand to lead him towards the sound of the waves, making familiar squishy steps as they strolled through the soft California sand in the dark atmosphere. The enveloping comfortable sound of the waves grew louder as it hugged their ears, welcoming the familiar visitors to their favorite place... They stopped near the shore, a salty breeze blowing calmly over their faces and through their hair as it took over their lungs in a rich caress...

"The ocean..." Armin's hushed voice declared as his hand tightened around Eren's.

"Yeah. It's your favorite place to come and think, so... I thought this was the best place to take you for a date..." Eren closed his eyes and smiled, letting the moonlight and the light spray of the ocean wind brush against his cheeks while he squeezed Armin's hand in return...

"Hmm..." Armin smiled while he watched the waves of the tide topple over each other in their never ending dance... but while normally being relaxed by it, he was a little more anxious now than he had already been all night... He let go of Eren's hand and checked the time on his phone again...

Eren watched his friend solemnly, afraid to ask why... "Everything alright?"

"Y-yeah, just... watching the time." The meekly smiling blond replied as he stared down at the shadowed sand. "It's just that if I'm out much longer, Grandpa will insist I spend the night..."

Eren's heart sank a little... "Oh..." His hope was rising and falling as fast as the waves were, it seemed... Was Armin having a _bad_  time?  Clearly he wasn't keen on spending the night... Was he in a hurry to leave? Would he be mad if Zeke didn't come back in time? He wasn't sure...

Armin looked back up at Eren and saw that he was beginning to look disheartened, and quickly sought to repair it. He held his date's arm in his hands, lightly nuzzling his shoulder for a moment, before resting his head against it, and closed his eyes...

Eren's dimly moonlit cheeks had a bright hidden blush over them now. In this moment of peace, he could relax again, and let his head fall gently against Armin's while he stared at the waves thoughtlessly...

Armin's quiet voice broke the silence. "When we were little kids, I used to dream of taking you sailing over the open seas... I wanted to fill you with something beautiful... show you what a real rich life could be."

Eren's heart skipped a beat for such a thought... It had been a fleeting one for him all week and hearing Armin speak of his dream _now_... "Do you... still want that?" He asked with a gentle grin...

Silence... Armin swallowed hard and burrowed his face in Eren's shoulder.

...Eren sighed with guilt for the way he used to treat their dreams... For willfully letting it go and letting Armin down... "I thought of you last night... I thought of us in Japan... You were writing another popular graphic novel and I was on vacation from the NFL... We were staying in our summer home by the sea, and just waking up. I looked at you there beside me and..." He stopped himself, realizing that was a little too steep of him to discuss right now... "Anyway, that's my dream..." He simpered, resting a hand in Armin's hair. "It's... always been... I'm sorry I didn't bring it up... But I... I want that. More than anything..."

Armin's eyes shot open. He raised his head up again, feeling Eren's hand trail off of it as he backed away a little, and wished he knew what to do with his own trembling hands... "Eren… I… I’m so confused…"

The dark haired boy's eyebrows knitted while his empty hand futily reached out for Armin's. "Hmm? By what?" He inquired sadly.

"You…"

"Me?..."

"I don’t understand how you feel about me…" Armin finally admitted with a slight hint of crying in his throat.

Eren was almost taken aback... Had he truly squandered all potential romance between them after all? "I… thought I was being pretty direct… Do you not believe me?..."

Armin shrugged sadly, and finally addressed all of his concerns with clear ache in his voice. "Well… you’ve only ever called me your best friend. No matter how close we were. And this date hasn’t been much different than our regular guys’ nights… For all I know, you might just be overly anxious about not hanging out last weekend… So… how do I know you really mean it when you say you want a relationship? And where do I go from here if you’re genuine?... I'm _scared_."

Eren sighed with a shaky breath while he fought his own heart not to break in his chest or let himself cry. "…This is my own fault. I know I spent so long insisting we were only friends, but… I truly do love you and I always have. Every gesture I’ve ever done for you… every fight I’ve fought, every gift I’ve given, every hug we’ve shared… it was all because I _love_ you. Everything I’ve done for you this week was because I’m in love with you and couldn’t stand the thought of losing you... I fought the feeling for so long... drowned it out with all my power, because I was a _coward_... And you deserve so much better than that... but... for what it's worth, I do. _I love you_. I'm truly, _truly_ in love with you..."

Armin studied Eren's expression... It was desperate, pained... and truly sincere. His gaze fell away as his mind fell into deep thought… and his eyes widened. It was all becoming clear. Everything all along… Everything this week… The bouquet, the bracelet, the song, the blossom, this date… Everything in their lives… the hugs, the friendship, the protection, the laughter… and everything beyond… the ocean, the promise, the world, Japan, their dreams, their future… all of it was because of this very truth that he dared not let himself ever believe: ...Eren Yeager was _in love_  with him. It hit him all at once. He felt woozy… And he looked back into Eren's desperate eyes... How could he have been so blind?... It was all right there on Eren's face all along, plain as the nose on his own face... “You’re really in love with me…”

Eren tried to swallow the salty lump forming in his dry throat while his eyes were officially losing the battle with tears. "I am… And this week has been so painful… The thought of losing you… The one thing in my life I counted on, the person I loved more than anyone else... might be done with me for good, and I didn’t understand why…"

Armin teared up himself… His empty hand flew up to cover his mouth. He’d hurt Eren so much more than he realized. And Eren had to go through that awful weekend of processing everything else alone, without his best friend. He was so sorrowful...

Eren reached out again and kindly brushed away the tears forming over Armin's cheek, while realizing a few things himself... "But I think... I understand _why_  now… And I’m _so sorry_ … If you can find it in your heart to forgive me, then… we can be whatever you want us to be. And I… offer my heart up to you. Armin…" Hot tears now flooded the Eren’s smoky eyes and trailed over his cheeks in big wet drops while his short breath audibly escaped through his lips.

Armin's trembling empty hands dangled at his sides while he stared at Eren, with tears of his own raining down over his face and falling into the sand. Fear stole the words from his throat... "Eren, I… --I…"

Eren looked into those sad heart-wrenching eyes, which instantly broke his heart anytime they read that Armin was hurting... He took the blond's empty, shaky hands in his, swallowed again, parted his lips, and spoke tenderly in his sincere voice, which only Armin ever got to hear... "Armin… I know you’ve thought this through. And you’re the smartest guy I know. So I know you know what the answer is... Without over thinking it anymore, please just tell me…"

Armin looked into those soulful grey eyes with his own. The lonely grey eyes that used to seem so lofty, now gazing straight into his, crying openly, yearning for him, and _begging_ for an answer…  

The waves seemed to melt away into total stillness for a moment while the ocean waited for Armin's answer too.

...Eren looked back into those big, bewildered, lost, and frightened eyes, with empathy, understanding, patience, hope, and love… and gave him a sore but endearing smile. "Armin… do you love me too?..."

With that electric smile of Eren's, Armin could finally let out the words... "...God,  _YES!_ " he cried, breaking down into utter sobs as he immediately jumped to throw his arms around the dark haired boy before him. _"I love you so much, Eren!"_ he wailed while the waves rushed wildly before them. "I’ve loved you since the beginning! I’ve dreamt of you telling me you love me back ever since we were kids! I’m so sorry I hurt you, Eren, I never-- I thought you didn’t-- I’m so, so sorry!!!"

Eren hugged him back tightly, beaming brightly against the blond's shoulder in the light of the moon, cupping the sculpt of his back while he tried his best to soothe him through his own overwhelming tears. "Shhh… shhh… No, no, _I’m_  sorry, I was such an idiot--"

 _"You’re not an idiot! No, no!"_ Armin argued as he pulled away to cup Eren's cheeks in his hands the way he'd always dreamt of...

Eren interrupted, still grinning, and holding Armin close while stroking his light, soft hair to calm him. "I'm so sorry I’ve been hurting _you_  for all these years by rejecting you when I've loved you all along. I’m so amazed that you endured that heart ache for so long!"

"No no, it’s not your fault, you didn’t have to reciprocate! I’m just so sorry you had to go through last weekend all alone, I know how that feels, I know, because this world doesn’t care about us and that’s why we need each other, and I-- I’m just so sorry--" His voice broke into just quiet crying while his hands gripped Eren's shoulders.

Still smiling, Eren finally cupped Armin's face to relax and quiet him, seeing as how this cycle would never end otherwise. “Shhh, it's okay, that’s enough of all that now, it’s alright... Please stop. It’s all okay now…" he cooed sweetly, stroking Armin's cheek lightly with his thumb. "I want us to just- put all this behind us... I want us to focus on _advancing_  our relationship. We’re together now, right? The world is scary, but it can’t defeat us now. Nothing can. No matter how cruel or how big... Nothing can overpower us... now that I have Armin Arlert in my arms."

Eren's smile was contagious as always. Armin's frowning lips finally curled into a grin for him in return while his wet eyes sparkled brighter than ever before. "...And Eren Yeager in mine."

Eren pulled the blond back into another warm hug before he might start crying again...

To the sound of the waves roaring even louder than before, Armin's cheek smooshed against Eren's shoulder while he beamed into the night air. A moment he always dreamed of, under the belief it may never come to pass... was now a reality. Eren's arms were really around him like this, stroking his back and his hair, holding him like he was the love of his life and like he never wanted to let go... He grasped Eren's back and shoulders, thrilled to have found a permanent use for his hands, and reeling in the fact that this hug meant so much more now than just _'maybe's,_ or _'hopefully's,_ or _'possibly's_... It meant a firm _'yes'_ now. _'Yes, Eren Yeager loves me back'_... How long was it before he usually woke up from this dream?... Ah, right... "Eren, I love you so much…"

"I love you too…" Eren mumbled into Armin's neck as he continued brushing his hand through his hair and along his back, deciding it was okay to just give in and let the tears fall all they wanted, since he couldn't seem to avoid it anyway. "Oh, god, I love you too…"

“...” Armin pulled away to look at him with a _new_ question in his eyes as their gazes met...

“...” Eren's lips parted into a gentle smile in response...

The foaming waves on the shore quieted again into a gentle hushed lap over the sand while the boys began to lean in... Their eyes remained open, fearful but excited, until... their lips met... and parted with a soft pop... It was so simple and yet a glorious, cherished expression of their once-caged feelings finally erupting out of them... They were in love and now they were together.  

Armin's eyes never glowed so bright... This _definitely_  wasn't a dream...

Eren looked at him in utter amazement. He'd never dreamed that he could feel this way... So inspired, so full of life, so _happy_. He smiled, the most dazzling and brilliant smile he'd ever made, posing yet another question in his expression for Armin to answer...

... Armin wrapped his arms back around his new lover and closed his eyes as he pressed his lips to Eren's again.

Eren’s normally fierce grey eyes rarely sparkled, but right now they were gleaming like starlight over the ever living sea at the feeling of Armin’s sweet lips pressing against his. He grew dizzy and rolled his eyes back as his eyelids fell down, and returned the kiss with all the passion in his body, tightening their embrace in the process... Anything to bring Armin closer. To let Armin feel loved. To let Armin know how loved he was… To let Armin know that from now on, for as long as they lived, it would always, _always_  be like this... The two of them together, in each other’s arms, with the world at their feet... 

The sound of the ocean waves were now roaring and pounding as they crashed against the shore.

Once the couple pulled away, their half lidded gazes met once more, as magnetically as always, over their glossy lips forming lovesick smiles… Those sweet simpers quickly changed into giddy grins accompanied by happy laughter as they pulled each other’s faces in closer and returned their arms around one another for one more thrilled embrace...

“Thank god you love me back already, I’d completely run out of ideas of what to do to make my feelings clear.” Eren chuckled as he released Armin from his hug to look at him again.

“Oh, Eren, all you needed was yourself!” Armin’s honey tinged voice assured him, squeezing his new lover's hands in his. “...So, how do you feel now?”

“--Ahah! Warm, high, dizzy, a lotta butterflies, kinda queasy, like my heart’s gonna bust right out of my chest cavity, can’t stop smiling… Haha! I’m incredibly happy! I feel-- completely in love… It's wonderful...”

Armin thanked god he threw those stupid warped glasses away so he could see Eren’s gorgeous, invigorating, lovesick smile clear as crystal, lighting up his world and filling him with life. “Me too!” he chuckled.

Eren’s hand rested against Armin’s bright perky cheek while his thumb gently swept away the happy tears coming out of those gorgeous eyes… Those gorgeous, dazzling, sparkling, starlit eyes that put diamonds to shame, were all aglow, all for him… In plain view… And now, he could stare into them all day if he wanted… Nothing was in their way or stuck between them anymore… Of all the ways Eren imagined love might feel, he never could've dreamed it felt like _this_.

A visible gulp went down Eren’s throat, causing those big eyes of Armin’s to dart to his adam’s apple just to study him for a moment before resuming their dizzy gaze into Eren’s… And all he wanted to do was kiss that grin of his yet again. Too excited to hold it in any longer, he jumped up to merge his smile with Eren’s once more.

Their lips wasted no time resuming their new favorite activity as the awkward naive kissing went on for another minute, while the boys held each other so close...

Finally, the horn from Zeke’s sneaky Prius sounded. The teens broke apart and turned their gazes towards the noise before shyly looking back at one another…

“So... What do you think now?... You wanna spend the night?” Eren asked.

“...You once told me I could stay with you as long as I want...”

“I meant it... How long would you like to stay with me?”

“...Forever?”

Eren had no words, only another sparkling grin and one more kiss to give his new boyfriend... though he felt like such a simple term seemed to understate how he felt about that little blond geek, whom was nothing short of the light of his life and more.

The new couple at last ran towards their ride, hand in hand, like they always would be from now on...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this climax was worth the wait! Thanks so much for reading thus far!!! Hope you enjoy the conclusion next chapter^^~
> 
> Zeke speaks fluent German and also Russian, who knew? He also has a pretty good handle on Japanese and Chinese. He and Armin actually have some really good intellectual conversations when Zeke's not picking on Eren >:T


	11. Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> These new lovers celebrate their newfound romance, and its power is proven again and again<3

Little Armin couldn't stop smiling to himself as he sat there with Eren in his window seat. Never before had someone been so kind to him and so full of intrigue for conversation with him... and Eren had this way about him that made Armin believe he could accomplish anything at all if he just tried. By now, Armin treasured the warm, safe, and happy feelings Eren gave him more than anything else in his heart. He wasn't sure what to call that feeling just yet, having so little guidance from adults in the realm of relationships... but whatever it was, being snuggled under a blanket with his only and amazing friend, Eren, gazing at the stars during a sleepover was the most wonderful sensation he'd ever felt in his 9 years of life. And furthermore, this was beginning to become a consistent feeling in his heart whenever the thought of Eren came to mind... He pointed to a bright star in the sky, turning Eren's curious attention towards it.

"See that star right there? That's called 'the North Star'. Or 'Polaris'. It always leads north, no matter where you are, so whenever you're lost, you use it to guide you home!"

"Wow, for real? That's so cool!"

"I know, right?! It's like a built in compass for humanity! We wouldn't be where we are today without it guiding us around the world to new places and new people..." Armin sighed. He leaned up against the window sill, resting his chin and cheek over his crossed arms on the ledge, musing happily to himself...

Eren couldn't be more excited. Armin was already thinking again. "What'cha thinkin' about now, Armin?" He asked, pulling himself in closer to him.

Armin blushed a little, wondering if he should finally tell him... Ever since Eren took him to the ocean, he’d felt like he should... and no matter how long he debated it, telling him was the only answer he ever concluded... but what would Eren say?... "Mmm... Well, it's kind of a secret."

"Well, you can trust me! I won't tell a soul."

"You promise?..."

"Of course! What are best friends for?"

Armin blushed a little more as a warm smile grew across his face... "Best friends?"

"Yeah!" Eren affirmed so matter-of-factly and sealed it with a gentle nudge. "So tell me. You can tell me anything."

Armin's eyes sparkled... Eren called him his best friend. What a wonderful term to hear...

Eren blushed a little himself at how happy Armin looked and felt that weird inexplicable flutter in his heart again too.

"Okay, I'll tell you. It's a little silly but... I have a dream."

"A dream?"

"Yeah... I wanna go all over the world... and see everything there is to see."

"Huh... Why?"

"Because the world here, isn't so good to me... There's mean kids who hit me and adults who ignore me... There's rules I don't like and more than anything there's-- an _emptiness_  here... Do you know what I mean?"

Eren felt like his eyes were beginning to open for the first time... "Yes..."

"Well, get this... Outside of this little world, are extraordinary things..." Armin's blush returned and his eyes began to sparkle even more. He turned to pull a little box out of his drawer and rested it between them. His little hands swiftly opened it, revealing a lot of lovely post cards from his parents with photos of all the exotic places they'd traveled to on their endless business trips. "See these, Eren? It's incredible out there! There's places with volcanoes!" He exclaimed, deciding to first pull out the post card featuring a bright erupting volcano from his parents' island trip, thinking it would excite Eren right away. He handed it to him and pulled out another card with a vivid photo of Mount Everest. "And there's mountains like this one, covered in snow, towering over the whole country! This mountain is the highest place in the world! Instead of just staring at the clouds all day, you'd be _standing_  in them!"

Eren found Armin's eyes so inspiring as he clutched the pretty post cards in his hands. He studied them silently, waiting for Armin to finish going through them all without interruption...

"And there's rainforests where it rains pretty much all the time! With more plants and fruit and bugs than you and I could ever hope to imagine!" He continued, handing Eren a card with a photo of the rain forest, and a vibrant rainbow feathered bird in the foreground. By now he started shoveling the cards to Eren one after another as he went on. "And there's deserts with endless sparkly sand dunes! Oh-oh, and fields of snow! A-and canyons deeper than anything! Oh, and-and... ah-- Sorry, I'm rambling, aren't I?"

"No, no... Keep going..." Eren’s low voice insisted.

Armin beamed so warmly... "The place I wanna visit most is this one..." he confessed holding up a postcard from a place called 'Japan'.

Eren took the card, marveling at the beautiful cityscape, surrounded by a beautiful sea.

The bright eyed blond pulled out a few more cards from Japan amidst the other miscellaneous ones and handed them to Eren. "They have such a respectful culture and an emphasis on peace and harmony. And they have this really pretty food called 'sushi' made out of raw fish and sweet rice! And they have building designs that mix old and the new. It's kinda like your mom's garden, but as a full city with even more great stuff in it! Oh, and it's where they make our favorite tv shows." He chuckled, referring to _Pokémon_  and _Yu-Gi-Oh!_.

Eren mused thoughtfully to himself, imagining this wondrous place Armin was describing in that thrilling voice of his. "...That's a pretty amazing dream, Armin."

The happy little child blushed. "Yeah... The only problem is I can't possibly do it on my own... They say it's a lot of work to get to see the world. And I wanna take someone _special_ with me but, who's gonna wanna go through all that trouble to see a big wild world like that with just... me?" Armin concluded and turned his gaze out the window with a bittersweet wistful expression...

Eren stared at him for a moment... His heart started to beat rapidly. The inspiration to truly live entered it for the first time... and he didn't waste another second before answering. _"I'll take you."_ He declared, taking Armin's hand in his.

Armin's eyes widened as they met right with his. "Hmm?"

"I'll take you. I'll do whatever it takes. We'll see the world together, all of those places, and Japan. You and me. I'll get us there... somehow." He promised with such certainty as he squeezed Armin's little hand in his...

Armin's eyes began to well up with tears, while his heart began to well up with... whatever that feeling Eren gave him was that he couldn't name... and the light glistened over his eyes in a way that made Eren forget all about the stars they were just looking at. "You will?..."

"Yes... I will..." Eren didn't even notice that his fingers had interlaced with Armin's and it wasn't until something in his chest ached when he suddenly realized he'd been just staring at him for a moment now... He shook his head and blinked a few times to find his thoughts again, and gave Armin a grin and a nod to seal his word.

Armin grinned back... Traveling the world with Eren was now his official dream, and a wonderful one at that. He wrapped his little arms tightly around his fierce eyed friend, with his little heart racing and pounding against Eren's chest.

Eren hugged him back, trying to ignore the weird “wonderful” feeling he had in his stomach again, and looked out the window to the empty suburbs ahead and the vast starry skies... What exactly did he promise here?... That was a big dream he just signed on for, being Armin's _'special someone'_... He'd never wanted anything more in his life and he never wanted Armin to stop hugging him, but... _‘What if... What if I'm not special enough for Armin?'..._

* * *

Zeke's headlights flashed over the mailbox and garbage cans by the yard as they pulled into the Yeagers' driveway. Armin wanted to snuggle up to Eren all the way home, but settled for just resting his head on his shoulder since Zeke was present. Eren never stopped smiling on the ride back, not even when Zeke gave him a hard time for his uppity fashion senses or his 'goofy looking' friendship bracelet. Armin Arlert was over-the-moon in love with him! The rest of the world could piss off for all he cared. 

The silent car engine turned off and Zeke skipped no beats jumping out in his chanclas and football jersey to grab his precious groceries from out of the trunk.

Eren helped Armin out of the car and the pair strolled arm-in-arm towards the front door. Suddenly Eren heard a crunch sound and looked down to see what he'd stepped on. "Oh, hey! Guess you finally threw out those placebo specs?" He beamed.

"Oh! Yes, sorry, I should've thrown them away but I was too distracted to think." he explained, taking the silly old glasses and throwing them with prideful satisfaction into the garbage can.

Eren chuckled to himself. "Now I get to look at your eyes all I want, huh?" He hummed, drawing Armin closer to him.

"Yeah. I definitely don't need them anymore..." the dreamy eyed blond purred, leaning in to kiss Eren again...

"Yo, loverboy!" Zeke interrupted, opening the door. "You and your date ever coming inside or what?"

Eren rolled his eyes, somehow not even angry that they should've had another half hour at the beach at least, were his ride more honorable. He lead Armin by the hand across the yard, grinning so amusedly to himself at the little skips in Armin's happy steps as they made their way to the front door.

The Yeager household was so quiet as the pair came into the darkened abode. Zeke took himself downstairs to bed in the basement, just asking the couple once again to stay out of trouble. With his brother out of the way, his parents safely asleep upstairs, and his new boyfriend alone with him all night long, Eren smiled excitedly and took a deep breath to relax as he put his arm comfortably around Armin's waist. Armin sighed and leaned against his tall and handsome lover.

Eren finally addressed the situation in a hushed tone. "So... you wanna sleep with me in my bed, tonight?"

"Yes... but that would certainly cause quite a scandal, don't you think?" the giddy blond chuckled softly into the quiet air. "So why don't we just take the couch?"

"As you wish, mein liebling." He hummed, helping himself to another quick kiss. "You hungry?"

"After all that dinner and pretzels? No, thank you." Armin laughed.

"You sure? We've got some leftover sausage from yesterday, spaghetti, some KFC, some hasenpfeffer, some pizza--"

"Geeze, why do you have so many leftovers?" the little blond asked, genuinely curious since Zeke lived in the house now.

"Well, I... actually haven't really been eating much this week."

"Oh!--"

"But I'm fine now!" Eren assured him. "And anyway, I'm starving, so I'll just grab some sausage out of the fridge real quick while you make yourself at home... _'Brb'._ " he winked.

Armin brought a hand to his lips to force back the laughter and took himself into the living room to sit down on the couch, illuminated only by the yellow nightlight behind it... He brushed his hands thoughtfully over the plush green blanket they always used to snuggle under, so joyful that tonight it would no longer feel quite the same way... What he figured was just another guys' night turned out to be the greatest night of his life... Eren was in love with him and now he would be spending the night with his boyfriend... his _boyfriend_... _'Eren is my boyfriend!...'_

Armin's smiling teeth seemed to be lighting up the room as Eren walked in to find him sprawled on the couch, beaming like the angel he always knew he was... With a cold sausage link in hand, he meandered over to his seat, sitting comfortably hip-to-hip with his love. "So, what's new?"

Armin stifled a giggle. "Khh-- I've missed you so much."

"Missed you too." Eren simpered, before opening wide and taking a series of ravenous bites of his sausage. It tasted so damn good now that the worst week of his life ended with the _best night_  of his life. He swallowed loudly, licking his fingers clean, much to Armin's amusement, both for how cute he was... (and because he always had a certain "intimate" fascination for how Eren eats...). Suddenly remembering he was technically still on a date, however, Eren paused and quickly tried to recollect himself with dignity... "Sorry..."

"No, don't be!" Armin insisted, affectionately petting his hungry date's stomach and arms. "I'm so glad to see you're eating again..." Spotting a stray drip of barbecue sauce from the corner of Eren's lip, he happily pulled a tissue from the Kleenex box on the side table where his bouquet rested, and wiped his boyfriend's face clean.

Eren blushed. "You know I think you missed a spot..."

"Hmm? Where?" The curious blond asked, trying to locate the spot in the dark.

Charmed, Eren wordlessly pressed his sweetened meat flavored lips to Armin's again.

A light laugh fluttered through Armin's lips for the clever move. _'Wow...'_ he thought. _'We can really do this any time now...'_

Eren pulled away to look at the heartbreakingly beautiful blond again before standing up to place the pillows on the couch for sleep. He picked up and unfurled the green blanket and gazed down at his pretty date, whose eyes were somehow _still_  glistening, even in such a dim lit room as this... "Okay, lay down and get comfy."

Armin obeyed, emptying his pockets, removing his shoes and belt, and taking off one of his shirts before resting comfortably on his back in the couch cushions. His eyes met Eren's, clearly begging him to hurry up and join him...

Reading the signal loud and clear, Eren raised the blanket and let it fall over his date, the way everyone loves to be tucked in, then proceeded to mirror Armin, emptying his pockets, and removing his outer shirt, belt and shoes. His eyes returned to Armin's, which, sure enough, were still beckoning him... Armin lifted the blanket up to invite him under it and Eren didn't waste another second seizing the opportunity. He slipped inside, quickly resting his body comfortably on top of Armin's and prompting a cute light noise from him in reaction.

" _Oop--_ Oh, loverboy, haha, so bold..."

"6 years of waiting? Seems more like just the natural course of action." He smirked.

The blond smirked back and nuzzled Eren's sweet musky neck. "Mmm... Say, I meant to ask you, why that wasn't on your mix CD. Seems like a pretty obvious choice for you."

" _'Loverboy'_? You told me you hate that song!" he laughed.

"Well, not if it's coming from you." he chuckled.

"Haha, I'll put it on your next CD then."

"Next CD?"

"Well, yeah. Your my boyfriend now and Eren Yeager's always gonna treat his boyfriend right." the grey eyed boy promised, with a few nuzzles of his own for Armin's neck...

but Armin felt uneasy. "Mm... Eren?... I really loved all of your gifts but... don't think you have to keep giving me things to keep me happy, okay?"

"Hmm?" Eren raised his head up again, clearly looking a little uneasy himself about that... "But... Mmh..."

Armin gently took Eren's face in his hands. "What is it? You know you can tell me anything..."

Eren looked down at the sad eyed boy beneath him... and realized this wouldn't work out if he weren't honest with him... He swallowed hard and finally confessed his biggest fear to the one whose opinion mattered most to him... "I...I'm worried that... you'll find out I'm not special... and I may not be able to live up to all the promises I've made to you... And you'll leave me behind." he frowned. Armin, however, looked surprised to hear that.

"So that's why you've been giving me things all week... Instead of just talking to me. Eren, do you really think I'm in love with you because of your gestures and services?"

Eren moved his gaze down to Armin's chest to avoid eye contact, abusively yelling at himself in his head _'Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry...'_ "I think... I think if it turns out I can't... get you across the world like I promised... You... may have no use for me and... we'll be done... I'm sorry." he whimpered as he smacked his hand over his face since he was failing to stop himself from crying after all...

Armin reached out to gently remove that big tense hand from Eren's face and interlocked it with his. "Eren... That dream means the world to me because it's _YOU_ I'd be seeing it with. It's not really about the sights, and it's not about mix CD's, or Pocky bouquets, or friendship bracelets, or ice cream, or apple blossoms... It's about sharing a real life with _you_... All you ever had to give me was yourself. I'll never be “done with you” or “leave you behind.” The world is pretty wonderful. But no wonder is more so to me than Eren Yeager..."

...Eren looked on in bewilderment. He couldn't believe his ears. That fear had been haunting and steadily eating him alive since that casual sleepover they shared at Armin’s house 6 years ago. The fear that all Armin might hold onto was the hope that the boy who took him to the ocean as a child would take him all over the world too, was a complete myth, all of his own convolution. And there was yet another cage he was freed from by the amazing Armin Arlert... He willingly gave up the fight and let the tears of relief fall freely to cleanse that awful twisted fear out of him. He buried his face into the side of Armin's neck, clutching him tight and just hoping Armin wouldn't be grossed out for this heavy moment. _"I love you!"_

Armin, of course, couldn't be happier to see all that tension finally leave Eren's body and let him relax. He returned his hug just as tight. "I love yo-- mm!" Silenced by Eren's passionate lips, he contentedly relaxed all over too...

Eren broke the kiss, before any other scary feelings bubbled up inside of him on just the first date, and simply hugged Armin close, more than happy to stay like this for the rest of the night... safe, warm, and incredibly happy.

Armin turned his head to look at Eren grinning there beside him while they were so snugly fit together on that humble couch. His smile mirrored his and their eyes met once again, in the way that they always would from then on; no longer waiting for an answer, but making a _promise_.

* * *

After about an hour or so, what was already a still, quiet household, was now even more deafeningly so as the late hours began to tick on... The new couple lay still, silent, sleepy, warm, and happy as they continued to hold each other close, fitting perfectly in one another's arms...

Armin let out a noiseless yawn.

Eren's low whispering tone broke the silence as he muttered by his tired mate's ear. "Armin, don't you want to sleep?"

"...I'm scared to." the light hushed voice confessed.

"Hm? What are you scared of?"

"-That when I wake up, this will all be a dream..."

Eren smiled against Armin's cheek and kissed it tenderly. "Don't worry about that. It's not a dream. I'll be right here beside you when you wake up..."

"You will?..."

"Yes. I promise..."

Armin smiled and yawned again. His heavy head rolled to face Eren, whose own eyes were already shut. "I love you..." he whispered.

"I love you too." the dark haired boy echoed, followed by slow breathing and final silence.

Armin closed his eyes, never feeling more at home in his life, and fell asleep within a mere moment...

* * *

At age 28, the sunlight beamed in through the window and landed across the faces of the two dreamers who snoozed away in their bed. The warmth from the light tickled Armin's nose, and he stirred quietly before finally opening his eyes... There lay the one he loved most, sleeping heavily and, from the looks of it, dreaming happily. The blond smiled and rolled over to kiss his husband's cheek and resolved to just rest quietly in bed this morning. The salty smell of the gleaming Japanese sea filled his lungs and the pure feeling of springtime washed over him to the sound of the waves dancing freely just outside their little house over the water.

Soon enough, the taller, shirtless, man stirred beside him, bed hair all afuss, and out came those moon-like silver eyes for Armin to see... Finding his husband waiting for him there with a gentle smile alerted his own famous grin to come out and greet him. _"Ohayou..."_ he yawned.

 _"Good morning."_ replied the blithe gentle voice from the pillow beside Eren's.

Eren rubbed his eyes and sat up, dangling his legs over the foot of the bed. "Hmm. Pretty nice day today, huh?"

"Yeah..." Armin finally sat up and stretched his muscles with another yawn before crawling over beside his husband to hug him gently.

"So affectionate this morning." he purred, leaving a kiss in the messy blond hair crowning the head on his shoulder. "You in the mood, Aru?"

"Mm mm." He chuckled, and crawled into Eren's lap, wrapping his arms and legs around him. "Just extra grateful this morning. Nostalgic, I suppose."

Eren hugged him back as always, rubbing his back with a gliding hand over Armin's silk pajama shirt, and kissed his neck. "You homesick?"

"Can't be homesick when I'm here with you."

"Hmhm..."

Armin pulled back, sliding his hands into Eren's soft tangly hair, and looked into his eyes with so much love before kissing that smile he couldn't get enough of, even after all these years...

* * *

Lunch time rolled around, but Armin was too busy at his work desk by the window, drawing for the latest chapter of "his" manga, which Eren was all but officially the co-author of... His stomach growled a little, but this complicated scene was stumping him too much right now to mind.

A moment later, Eren entered the room with that stumble in his walk from his old damning high school football injury he'd finally gotten used to dealing with... and a big wooden slab of colorful food to share with his husband.

Armin clutched his heart. Nothing ever stopped Eren Yeager from attempting to do what he wanted and no one knew that better than Armin, whom Eren dedicated every ounce of his power to serve... He quickly brushed aside all of his exhausting work to happily make room for the grand meal Eren was bringing.

"One _'Arureruto'_ lunch special, all yours." he winked, placing the slab down on the desk with a smile. "A serving of shrimp fried rice, extra saucy pineapple chicken, featuring my own special sauce, 3 nigiri sushi: 1 shrimp and 2 salmon, and 3 crab dumplings with chili sauce. _And_ for dessert, rolled ice cream, courtesy of that ice grill I insisted we buy!" he laughed. "3 rolls of vanilla, 2 of matcha, a light drizzle of caramel, 2 strawberries dipped in dark chocolate, a smothering drizzle of chocolate overall, and 2 matcha dessert Pocky sticks just for that extra pop! Also went out and picked you this bouquet of sakura blossoms, tied in red string.” he declared with pride. “Happy spring, mein leibling. _Aishiteru_..."

Armin grinned and let out an enchanted laugh for the elaborate meal. "Oh, Eren, you sure find a way to make use of your free time!"

Eren being Eren, he took a bite of his own dessert first: rolled chocolate ice cream, a hand full of bonbons, smothered in whipped cream and covered in sprinkles. "Time well spent if you ask me." He replied with his mouth full. "You jealous of my sushi skills yet?"

Armin picked up one of the beautiful salmon sushi from his side of the tray and bit into it with a hum of genuine enthusiasm for it's deliciousness. "Mmm! God, you know I am." he chuckled. "Hard to believe now that you couldn't even use chop sticks once upon a time."

"Well I discovered that the secret to that is to just not use them." he joked. "It really pisses off sensei, but yanno, whatever gets the food on the table is my philosophy."

"Khh-- Hahah..." The messy haired blond giggled, vividly picturing Eren in the kitchen at his sushi classes fighting with the teacher in his horrendously broken Japanese. "You're something else, Eren..."

"Yep. And there's no one else like _you_ , Armin." Eren simpered before taking a long drink of his Ramune.

Armin beamed for his husband before taking a bite of the fried rice and gazing down at the lovely sakura bouquet, thoughtfully stroking the soft pink petals... He felt so lucky... As happy as the morning he woke up in Eren's arms after their first date, as happy as the morning he spent rolling around in bed with him after their wedding day, as happy as he ever was knowing that Eren Yeager was in love with him and ever falling... That was his dream, and whether they had a well-off lifestyle in this quaint elevated beach house by the sea in Japan, or their happy home always waiting for them back in America at Eren's house, he felt like the luckiest man in the world... Their dream didn’t turn out quite the way he imagined it, and had a number of bumps in the road, but here Eren was, still loving him, and that was all he ever really wished for... His eyes sparkled and met Eren's as he reached out to interlock their hands. "I love you."

"I love you too." Eren grinned.

With no other words needed, the couple leaned in to share a tender kiss in the warmth of the morning sunlight...

<3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys SO MUCH for reading!!! This fic turned out so much bigger than I ever intended and got so much more attention than I'd anticipated so I am very very grateful to all of you for taking this fun little journey with me and laughing and crying with me as the story unfolded :'3 And I hope you liked it, Peachy. Merry Eremin~ *hug*
> 
> As an added bonus, here's a few more fun footnotes to go with this fic's canon:
> 
> •Guys' night becomes date night, and they do still try to maintain it even into their adult years.  
> •Armin's manga is actually just Shingeki No Kyojin as we know it. Eren helps him heavily in the creative process and is essentially the co-author since the story is "loosely based on" his life with Armin, but Armin is credited as author for being the one to actually draw and write it. Connie is an avid fan of their manga while Jean finds it a little contrived lol.  
> •Eren did not become an NFL star like he dreamed due to a lack of talent but more importantly, a horrible injury in his senior year that rendered him useless as an athlete; (injury to his left arm and his left leg).  
> •Mikasa was their wedding planner with very enthusiastic help from Carla. The caterers were Benihana and Sasha's father's traditional German restaurant, Yalkel Küche, (a local treasure). Carla also served her famous sausages at the wedding.  
> •Armin still has their childhood friendship bracelet even at age 28. Eren lost his. He's very good at keeping track of his wedding ring though ;3  
> •Mikasa and Jean begin dating after graduation when they shed their caste system identities and begin to have honest conversations.  
> •Zeke was so jealous of Eren's sushi chef classes that he went out and took some of his own to one up him, and impress Grisha. He is a master chef now, despite his sensei hating him for his pretentiousness, and Grisha feigned being impressed (he is not a big fan of sushi lol).  
> •Eren has long hair when he and Armin are traveling because he tends to be so preoccupied with having fun that he never remembers to cut it.  
> •Marco, who did indeed have a thing for both Armin and Jean, eventually found himself dating Reiner of all people. Did they get married? You decide lol.  
> •While I don't believe Eren is actually as creative as he is in this fic per the request I was playing with, for this canon, he does tend to fill his free time developing his creative skills in cooking and crafts. He may essentially be considered a stay-at-home husband since his work tends to be sporadic, but Carla is extremely proud and a heavy influence on him. Eren honestly loves how his life turned out though.
> 
> Hope to see you all at the sequel! ;3 Eremin forever!!!


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